By Chamatkar Sandhu

Michael 'Venom' Page secured the signature win of his career last month when he defeated Evangelista 'Cyborg' Santos at Bellator 158 in London, England.

His Pokemon Go-inspired celebration went viral within seconds, along with the graphic image that displayed the injury his jumping knee attack inflicted upon Cyborg's skull.

London calling

For Page, the opportunity to fight in front of his friends, family and fans in London, on a massive stage at the O2 Arena, was a moment he relished.

"Because it was such a big occasion, it was massive in my head," Page said. "For it to take over my expectations, it was the best night I've ever had in MMA so far. The first couple of times I fought, I had a good crowd around me, but it was only a section. Now, not only was that most of the crowd; it was on a bigger scale at the O2 arena, there were more people, and it just lifted me in a way I have never felt before."

During fight week, Page concluded his open workout by showcasing the now-infamous jumping knee attack to the media, and pointed to the mat, which foreshadowed what would become Cyborg's fate in the following days. It's a technique he has drilled time and time again with his coach.

"My coach is the wizard," Page said. "He will look at the opponent and will tell me specific things that I can catch this particular person with, and that was one of the things we were going over nonstop—it was the jumping knee. It was drilled as counter, applying pressure, waiting for my opponent to make his move and then land the knee. I was confident I could land it."

Ready, set, Pokemon Go!

The post-fight celebration inspired by the phenomenon that is Pokemon Go doubled as a platform to transcend the typical MMA audience. To date, it has become Bellator's most-watched video on YouTube with almost 4 million views.

"It's something I'm becoming more and more known for—it's not just the wins, it's how I celebrate," Page said. "It's not something I try too hard to think about, because if I try and force it, it won't come out the same. It worked out perfectly."

Back to reality

After Page was done reveling in his win and watching his social media notifications blow up, he sobered up 24 hours later when he learned the extent of Cyborg's injury.

"The initial knee itself, I didn't know how bad it was," said Page. "In my head, I landed the shot I wanted, and the fight was over. So you get a sense of relief first, then you get into celebration mode. He was gone to hospital, so I didn't actually see him. The first time I actually heard about the injury was online when the image was posted.

"The first post was probably the scariest post I've ever had to read, because it said, 'fatal injury in MMA,' so my heart stopped. I was like, 'No way, please,' then my brother read into it a little bit more, and obviously it wasn't the case, but it's still a bad injury."

"I heard people were saying that's the type of injury you'd see in a car crash," Page said. "The term we use for that kind of timing is 'creating the car crash effect'—that is exactly the term we use in training; applying pressure so when they close on you, you close on them, but faster. It's not something that's common, and won't happen again for a long time, which is good. I don't want people to think negatively of the sport because of an injury that is a rare occurrence."

Cyborg back this year?

"We are in an extremely tough combat sport and I can speak for absolutely every single fighter that has ever stepped into the cage: you do not wish negatively after the fight," Page said. "Now, we know everyone has rivalries and tension before, but you would never wish that kind of stuff on another fighter. He wants to come back in six months, which I think is crazy, but the fact he's talking like that is a good thing."

The media attention and interview requests that Page and his management received following the fight was unprecedented, and it certainly seems he's become one of Bellator's biggest stars.

"It's been absolutely crazy," said Page. "I've been on platforms I didn't know MMA could reach, and it was simply due to the celebration and how it was done. Just seeing some of the posts and who was posting it was a mini-celebration in itself. Everyone is contacting my manager, Craig, and as much as I'd love to be on everyone's platform, it's just so difficult, so that's why I just leave it down my team."

What's next, who's next?

"A lot of people need to be looking out for me in a big way, because we're going to be doing a lot of work behind the scenes," Page said. "Bellator as a whole is just getting better and better; there's more talent coming in. With regards to the title, I am going to be picking off these bigger names one by one, so I look forward to more big names getting crossed off the list. It will probably be within the next couple of months, I hope. I want to get one more by the end of the year, and then start the new year on a massive high."