By Jim Edwards

Bellator MMA last evening landed on UK soil for the first time with Bellator 158 taking place at the 02 Arena in London. The build-up to fight night was littered with misfortune with injuries, withdrawals and of course, the sudden death of the much beloved Kimbo Slice. 

Page proves he's the MVP in London with stunning KO

Despite the crazy build up, the night was filled with excitement from beginning to end, though one man definitely left the O2 with the headlines.

Despite not being booked in the main event, it was evident very early on that the star attraction was hometown boy Michael Venom Page. Prior to Page walking out, the arena was sparsely populated though fans quickly took their seat once it was announced Page's fight would be next.  

Page received a massive ovation as he made his way to the cage with the crowd chanting 'MVP, MVP, MVP' from all sides of the Arena.

Any fear Page wouldn't live up to the hype after a stellar first round was irradiated after four minutes and thirty-one seconds of the second round when the London crowd witnessed one of the most memorable knockouts in Bellator MMA history. 

With the fight being fought on the feet, the very game Cyborg ducked in for a takedown, but Page, with his great sense of anticipation, spotted it a mile off and took off with his front knee flying through the air. 

His knee connected with an almighty thwack to the face of Cyborg who was out before he crumpled face first on the mat. It was an incredible sight to see and the crowd lost their mind as Page celebrated, hand raised and head bowed in the centre of the cage lapping up the ovation as he then proceeded to throw a Pokeball in the direction of his downed foe. 

To complete the Pokemon GO themed celebration, Page explained in his interview after: "For all the Pokemon lovers, I just caught myself a Cyborg."

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/754419055788904449" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

Lima outworks Daley to take decision in the main event

In the main event, Paul Daley faced former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Douglas Lima in a fight scheduled to go three, five-minute rounds. 

From round one it was obvious this was going to be a titanic battle as Lima dropped Daley in the first exchange with a devastating uppercut. Daley somehow managed to survive and even landed a few decent strikes of his own before the round was out.

In round two, the two men really began to open up as they stood toe-to-toe and traded in the pocket. Both men landed stiff leg kicks and strikes but towards the end of the round it was Lima who caught Daley big with a left hook that staggered him across the cage. Lima then took him down but ran out of time before he could finish his man.

Despite nearly being finished just minutes before, Daley started round three well and caught Lima with some a stiff right hand. Lima then took Daley down to the mat though and held top position for the majority of the rest of the round. Neither did much damage but Lima blatantly had the better of the round control wise.

After 15 hard-fought minutes, it went to the judges who unsurprisingly gave the unanimous decision to Lima 30-27 on all three cards.

Mitrione KOs Thompson in round two of heavyweight clash

In the co-main event, former UFC star Matt Mitrione took on British heavyweight Oli Thompson in what turned out to be a barn burner of a fight. After a crazy first round where they both rocked each other, Mitrione finished Thompson in the final few moments of the second round with a devastating flurry coming off the clinch to give Mitrione his second win in the Bellator cage in under a month. 

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/754435699814854656" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

Also on the main card, Ireland's James Gallagher made a successful Bellator MMA debut by defeating Mike Cutting in the main card curtain jerker. Gallagher had to put up with some frustrating tactics from Cutting who's plan from the outset was simply to stay elusive. It made for a pretty lacklustre affair which Gallagher won 30-27 on all three scorecards. 

Earlier in the evening, the prelims were headlined by Alex Reid who made a return to the cage after nearly four years out. Unfortunately for Reid, it wasn't to be a triumphant return as the man better known these days for UK reality TV exploits, had a torrid time against his Spanish opponent Manuel Garcia who beat him via a unanimous decision after three very one-sided rounds. 

Bellator 158 Full Results:


Main Card

Douglas Lima def. Paul Daley via unanimous decision (30-27,30-27,30-27)
Matt Mitrione def. Oli Thompson via TKO (Punches) Round 2 
Francis Carmont def. Lukasz Klinger via submission (D'Arce choke) Round 1
Michael Page def. Cyborg Santos via KO (Flying knee) Round 2 
James Gallagher def. Mike Cutting via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)


Preliminary Card

Manuel Garcia def. Alex Reid via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
James Mulheron def. Neil Grove via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-26)
Danny Mitchell def. CJ Meeks via submission (Twister) Round 1 
Nathaniel Wood def. Case Morton via submission (RNC) Round 3
Jason Radcliffe def. Jack Mason via KO (Knee) Round 1
Dean Garnett and Luiz Tosta majority draw (27-29, 28-28, 28-28) 
Pietro Menga def. Spencer Hewitt via KO (Punch) Round 1
Michael Shipman def. Dom Clark via submission (Anaconda) Round 1