Michael Page is taking his Bellator 281 main event loss to Logan Storley as a critical part of his growth process as a fighter.
Page can’t dispute that Storley inflicted minimal damage and barely threatened with submissions. However, the Brit said he takes responsibility for not finding a way to lead the dance and get the win.
“I always like to put as much things that’s happened on myself,” Page told MMA Junkie on Sunday. “For me, I need to be better at not being held down. There’s a few things I feel I could’ve done in retrospect better, a few decisions I could’ve made and I could’ve guaranteed me the win. But at the same time, it’s also weirdly exciting for me because it’s like, all I have to do is fix one thing in my game and I become the most dangerous person in MMA. That’s how I see it. People do not want to get back in front of me while I’m doing what I do. So it’s kind of exciting. I’m ready to get straight back to work.”
“I understand (Coker’s) view, but I’m also in a game where grappling is a big thing, wrestling is a big thing,” Page said. “It’s difficult for me to then turn around and be annoyed by grappling. I think the wrestling element of things should be a tool to create more damage and try to win a fight, not be something that allows you to survive a fight. I definitely don’t feel you should win that way, but at the same time, it is part of the game.”
“I do think there’s too many grey areas in the sport, which is why one referee can see something so different from another referee watching exactly the same thing. It’s definitely something I think the sport in general needs to fix, as far as what is more important during a fight. But I definitely came to win, and I do believe he kind of came to survive. I understand why people feel the way they feel.”
“I’m a very petty person,” Page said. “He’s won, but in not in any kind of spectacular fashion. I’ve legit had harder spars. The reason I say it that way, is because physically I don’t have a bruise, I don’t have a sore, I don’t have an ache. Anything. It doesn’t even feel like I’ve had a five-round fight. That’s probably the most frustrating thing about it, is losing in way where, I know for a fact I could go into a fight this weekend and feel fine and be good to go. I know he couldn’t say the same. It’s weird that he’s won the fight. … I want to get it back, so I’m going to be pushing, working, putting on more fights until I’m able to get back to that position.”
