Paul Daley was knocked out of the opening round of the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix on Saturday, and he’s not too happy about it. Known for his technical striking and knockout power, fans were shocked to see ‘Semtex’ shooting for takedowns against bitter UK rival Michael ‘Venom’ Page in the Bellator 216 main event, which he ultimately lost via unanimous decision. Daley, however, feels he won the fight three rounds to two and accused Bellator of ‘protecting their investment.’ The British knockout artist posted the following statement on Instagram. “I’m disappointed, MMA politics and Bellator protecting [their] investment,” Daley posted on Sunday. “I feel I won three rounds to two. IMO I beat that fool. Really. Close fight. It’s just sad MMA is going the way of boxing. I’m a ‘striker’ who wrestled so I lose, and the fool they pumped money into wins. “I look forward to getting home to my family and normality.” Page, who accused Daley of not wanting to ‘fight’ at Bellator 216, has suggested the former UFC welterweight contender should retire. “I’ve said this before, seriously, where does he go after I beat him?” Page said. “Seriously, where does he go? Maybe he should retire and just be done with it, because he’s not good enough. His gym is a sham. Anybody in Nottingham, or Newcastle or wherever the hell he lives, don’t ever go there. He overcharges and under-delivers, the same way he did here. Under-delivered.” With the win, Page advances to the next round of the Grand Prix where he will will face former two-time Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.<doc-sep>Fans expecting a striking showdown weren’t the only ones disappointed by how the Bellator 216 main event unfolded. In a stunning shift of style, Paul Daley spent much of Saturday’s grudge match with Michael Page circling around the cage and looking for openings to take or trip “Venom” down to the mat. Considering that both men are known for their vicious KOs, this strategy was eyebrow-raising to say the least and perhaps worst of all for Daley, it did not lead to a win as all three judges scored the fight in Page’s favor. Given the bad blood that has been brewing between Daley and Page for years, it was unlikely they would simply walk away from the skirmish quietly, and sure enough Daley later took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the verdict and to criticize Bellator officials. “I’m disappointed, MMA politics and Bellator protecting [their] investment,” Daley wrote. “I feel I won three rounds to two. IMO I beat that fool. Really. Close fight. It’s just sad MMA is going the way of boxing. I’m a ‘striker’ who wrestled so I lose, and the fool they pumped money into wins. “I look forward to getting home to my family and normality.”<doc-sep>Bellator MMA did a fine job hyping the main event for Bellator 216’s main event, playing up the real-life grudge between two of England’s finest competitors, Michael “Venom” Page and Paul Daley. The company showed promotional smarts, too, in putting the duo together in the quarterfinal round of the Welterweight World Grand Prix tournament. But once the cage door shuts, it’s on the fighter from there, and a bout which promised fireworks never quite got untracked. As the bout turned tactical, Page did just enough to get the job done in a close fight. “MVP” stayed undefeated as he earned a unanimous-decision victory. The judges’ scores at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. were 48-47 across the board. “He didn’t come here to fight,” Page (14-0) said of his foe. “MVP came here to fight. He was bragging about being a knockout artist, but he went for takedowns, and he still didn’t do shit on the floor.” The opening round was essentially a starting contest, with little in the way of action. But it was also a round in which Page chased and Daley circled away. Page landed the few strikes which were thrown in the round, which was likely enough to give him the nod on the cards. In the second, Daley went the counterintuitive route, as the veteran kickboxer went to his rarely used wrestling game and scored a takedown. From a sitting position, Daley trapped MVP’s legs and threw punches. Daley again implemented a wrestling gameplan in the third round, with Page having little in the way of an answer. The fourth round appeared to be more of the same, at least until Page surprisingly reversed position, where he landed his most sustained offense over the round’s final minute. The fifth was a tale of two rounds, as Daley scored a takedown and maintained a dominant position over the first half of the round. But Page got Daley’s back midway through, worked for a rear-naked choke, and controlled things the rest of the way. That was enough to swing the round, and the fight, in his favor. With the victory, Page is bracketed to face former Bellator titleholder Douglas Lima in the semifinals. “It will be an absolute honor to share the cage with someone I respected the second I joined Bellator ... I’ve always had massive amounts of respect for this man,” Page said. Daley (40-17-2) has now dropped two straight and three of four.<doc-sep>MMA Fighting has Bellator 216 results for the MVP vs. Daley fight card Saturday night from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. In the main event, rivals Michael Page and Paul Daley will kick off the welterweight grand prix. MMA veterans Mirko Cro Cop and Roy Nelson will square off in the co-main event. Check out the Bellator 216 results below. Main card Michael Page def. Paul Daley via unanimous decision (48-47 x3) (live blog) Mirko Cro Cop def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) (live blog) Cheick Kongo def. Vitaly Minakov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28 x2) Yaroslav Amosov def. Erick Silva via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28 x2) Valerie Loureda def. Colby Fletcher via first-round TKO (2:55) Undercard Tyrell Fortune def. Ryan Pokryfky via first-round TKO (2:21) Nekruz Mirkhojaev def. Patrick Casey via submission (neck crank) (R3, 1:18) Vinicius De Jesus def. Rodolpho Barcellos via first-round TKO (3:46) Kemran Lachinov def. Kastriot Xhema via submission (kneebar) (R2, 0:53) Justin Sumter def. Reginaldo Felix via submission (RNC) (R2, 3:27) Jesse Kosakowski def. Rodolfo Rocha via submission (RNC) (R2, 3:05) Demetrius Plaza def. Andrews Rodriguez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27 x2)<doc-sep>
On Saturday night, in the main event of the stacked Bellator 216 card, Paul Daley and Michael Page finally stepped into the cage together for an anticipated grudge match. Although Daley had some real success in this fight, using his wrestling edge to ground the action on multiple occasions, he ultimately wound up losing a unanimous decision to his rival. However, he does not agree with that verdict. Post-fight, Paul Daley took to Instagram to share his disappointment with the judges’ decision. He also accused Bellator of protecting their golden goose Michael Page. “I’m disappointed, MMA politics and Bellator protecting they’re investment. I feel I won 3 rounds to 2. IMO I beat that fool. Really. Close fight. It’s just sad MMA is going the way of Boxing. I’m a “striker” who wrestled so I lose, and the fool they pumped money into wins. 🤔 I look forward to getting home to my family and normality. 💯. FOAMS.” – Paul Daley on Instagram Paul Daley is now on a two-fight skid, as he also he lost a decision to Jon Fitch in his next most recent fight. This skid was preceded by a highlight reel knockout defeat of Lorenz Larkin, and a submission loss to reigning Bellator welterweight champ Rory MacDonald. Michael Page meanwhile, sits at a perfect 14-0, and advances to the second round of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. He’ll meet former champion Douglas Lima in his semifinal bout. Do you think Paul Daley deserved the judges’ nod against Michael Page at Bellator 216 on Saturday night? This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/17/2019. This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM