Michael 'Venom' Page to face Douglas Lima in London homecoming at Bellator 267... with Briton out to avenge his only career defeat suffered at the hands of the Brazilian

• Michael Page returns to London to take on old rival Douglas Lima at Bellator 267 
• The Londoner lost to former welterweight champion Lima back in May 2019
• Page, 34, is out to avenge his only career defeat in front of his home crowd
• A win will almost certainly guarantee a shot at  Yaroslav Amosov's 170lbs title

Michael 'Venom' Page will return to London for the first time in almost two years as the Bellator star seeks to avenge his only career defeat to Douglas Lima at Bellator 267 on October 1, Sportsmail understands.

Page, 34, takes on former welterweight champion Lima with revenge in mind after suffering a second-round knockout defeat to the Brazilian at Bellator 221, the only time the Londoner has tasted defeat in his 20-fight career.

'Venom' has gone onto enjoy five wins on the bounce, with his most recent victory a brutal knockout of Derek Anderson, in which the American's nose was badly broken following a vicious kick. 

Lima became Bellator's welterweight champion shortly after his victory over Page, but lost his crown to Yaroslav Amosov last month, with the Ukrainian riding out a unanimous decision victory in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Lima and Page are the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders in the welterweight division respectively, and a win at the SSE Arena for either fighter will almost certainly guarantee their shot at newly-crowned Amosov's title. 

Page will be confident that, with the support of a vociferous home crowd, he can get one over his old rival in London. 

The Hackney-born striker appeared in control during their first bout, before a sweeping leg kick destablised him and Lima capitalised by landing the decisive knockout blow. 

The 34-year-old insisted last month that his priority was to avenge his defeat to Lima, rather than chase the belt.

'From the beginning, I've never cared that much about having a belt,' he said. 'I have felt belts are part and parcel of your success. Those kind of things, from day one, they have never been my interest. 

'I've got that grudge [against Lima] that I need to sort. And that is definitely more important. I'm just waiting for that time to come.'

Upon confirmation of his rematch with Lima, Page said: 'The comeback is always bigger than the setback. It was always gonna happen, it's written in the stars. The one and only MVP is back, and I will have my redemption in front of my hometown the only way I know how – in venomous style.' 

Page will certainly look to put on a show in his hometown come October, with the 34-year-old boasting one of the most spectacular knockout highlight reels in mixed martial arts. His last appearance in London resulted in a first round knockout of Giovanni Melillo.

Yet Lima will feel he has a point to prove. The Brazilian has won three of his last six fights and enters Bellator 267 knowing that a win on away soil will see him rematch Amosov.

'MVP has put together an impressive string of wins together, but when he gets back in the cage with me, the end result is going to be the same as the first time,' said Lima. 'Right now, I'm on a mission to put the Bellator belt back around my waist. Anyone standing in my way will be dismantled.' 

The Bellator 267 main card will also see Sunderland's Andrew Fisher take on Scotland's Robert Whiteford in the featherweight division, while Staffordshire's Tim Wilde faces lightweight rival Yves Landu, of France.  

Tickets for BELLATOR MMA 267: Lima vs. MVP 2 go on sale on Friday, July 30, with a special pre-sale Thursday, July 29 and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and BELLATOR.com.

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