Welcome back to Only Cans, where we examine suspicious MMA records so you don’t have to spend Sunday evening comparing regional welterweights on Tapology while your family quietly accepts that you are no longer reachable.
This week’s defendant is Michael “Venom” Page, owner of flying knees, hands located somewhere near his hips and enough theatrical knockouts to keep MMA compilation channels operating through several recessions. Following his September 5 victory over Nursulton Ruziboev, Page’s professional record stands at 26-3, including a 5-1 UFC run. ufc.com
That looks excellent. It also comes with a familiar accusation: Bellator spent years feeding MVP carefully selected victims so he could perform martial-arts fatalities on television.
Let’s inspect the tins.
The 0-0 Debut Is Completely Normal
Page made his professional debut against Ben Dishman, who was also 0-0. MVP knocked him out with a tornado kick in 65 seconds, which seems an unnecessarily dramatic way to introduce yourself, but the matchmaking was fair. Two debutants entered; one discovered he had accidentally joined somebody else’s highlight reel. Tapology
Fight number two is harder to defend. Page was 1-0 when he faced Miguel Bernard, who was 0-4, and submitted him in the first round. Matching a 1-0 prospect with an 0-4 opponent isn’t the greatest scandal in combat-sports history, but Bernard never won a professional fight and retired 0-5. That is not merely a can. That is a limited-edition commemorative tin with Page’s face printed on the label. Tapology
The Undefeated Opponent Who Requires an Asterisk
At 2-0, Page fought Haitham ElSayed, who entered with a shiny 6-0 record. On paper, that looks like a legitimate step up. Then you examine ElSayed’s résumé and discover that four of those six wins came against debutants, with another against an 0-2 opponent. Page stopped him by doctor intervention, and ElSayed later finished his career 10-10. Tapology
The later losses do not retroactively make ElSayed useless. However, his 6-0 was clearly less impressive than the number suggested, which is exactly why this column exists. Records are helpful until somebody uses six victories over beginners to construct an undefeated Egyptian boss battle.
Page then beat 4-3 Ryan Sanders in ten seconds and 2-0 Ramadan Mohammed by submission. Those were favourable matchups, but Page was still only 3-0 and 4-0 himself. Prospects fighting modest regional opposition early in their careers is normal; expecting a 4-0 kickboxer to immediately fight prime Georges St-Pierre would be less matchmaking and more an elaborate insurance scam. Tapology
Bellator Initially Gave Him Real Tests
The first serious damage to the prosecution’s case arrives with Ricky Rainey. Page entered their fight 5-0, while Rainey was 9-2. MVP was a heavy favourite, but this was not a veteran prospect mugging a confused beginner. He knocked out the more experienced man in the opening round. Tapology
Next came Nah-Shon Burrell, a 10-4 UFC and Strikeforce veteran, against 6-0 Page. Contemporary coverage described Burrell as a step up in competition, and Page needed all three rounds to win. That matchup did precisely what prospect matchmaking is supposed to do: introduce danger gradually without booking a human sacrifice or handing out a title shot because somebody’s TikTok numbers looked promising. Tapology
Things softened again when 7-0 Page faced Rudy Bears, who was 16-13 and had won only two of his previous seven Bellator appearances. Bears possessed considerable experience, but Page entered as approximately a -1200 favourite and knocked him out in 65 seconds. Experienced does not automatically mean competitive, particularly when the betting market treats the opponent’s victory as a paranormal event. Tapology
Charlie Ontiveros was 6-3 when he fought 8-0 Page, although he accepted the bout on short notice after several prospective opponents fell through. Jeremie Holloway followed at 7-1 against 9-0 Page. Neither was an atrocious opponent on paper, and Page was not responsible for Bellator struggling to find somebody willing and available, but he was a massive favourite against Holloway and finished both men in the first round. Tapology
The Veteran Collection
At 10-0, MVP fought Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos, who entered at 21-17. At 11-0 he faced Fernando Gonzalez at 25-13, followed by David Rickels at 19-4 when Page was 12-0. These opponents were not cans. They were experienced professionals who had fought serious competition, although Santos was 38, Gonzalez was 33 and Rickels was moving up from lightweight. Tapology
This was Bellator’s preferred MVP formula: recognizable veteran, respectable record, obvious stylistic opportunity for Page to do something unpleasant in slow motion. The matchmaking was favourable, but “favourable” and “fake” are not synonyms. Santos had nearly 40 fights, Gonzalez took Page to a split decision and Rickels had been a Bellator title challenger.
Page then beat Paul Daley, who entered at 40-16-2, in the opening round of Bellator’s welterweight tournament. The fight was terrible enough to qualify as experimental sleep medicine, but Daley was unquestionably legitimate. Page finally met former champion Douglas Lima at 14-0 and suffered his first professional defeat, getting knocked out in the second round. Tapology
So far, Page’s record contained some convenient matchmaking but also several credible tests. Then Bellator responded to the Lima loss with the combat-sports equivalent of wrapping its expensive vase in seventeen layers of bubble wrap.
The Post-Lima Rebuild Was Extremely Canny
Page returned against 3-1 Richard Kiely while holding a 14-1 record. He entered around a -950 favourite and knocked Kiely out with a flying knee. Kiely had legitimate kickboxing experience, but a top Bellator welterweight with 15 professional fights facing a man with four MMA bouts is exactly the kind of matchmaking that makes the Can-O-Meter begin humming ominously. Tapology
Next came Gianni Melillo. His 13-4 record looked respectable, but the odds placed Page around -1300, and 97% of Tapology users selected MVP. Page knocked him out in 107 seconds. Shinsho Anzai followed at 9-3, with Page again installed around -1200 before another knockout. Tapology
These men were professional fighters with winning records, so dismissing them as helpless civilians would be unfair. The problem is context: Page was already a proven Bellator contender, yet the promotion booked three consecutive opponents against whom he was an enormous favourite. It looked less like rebuilding confidence and more like Bellator had discovered the “easy” difficulty setting.
The fourth fight in that sequence was much better. Ross Houston entered 8-0, had won the Cage Warriors welterweight championship and had fought Nicolas Dalby to a no-contest in a title bout. Page won a decision, after which he beat 17-3 Derek Anderson and took a split decision over Douglas Lima in their rematch. Those results make it very difficult to argue Page was only capable of beating weak opposition. Tapology
The UFC Run Has Settled the Ability Question
Page’s later résumé includes a narrow interim-title loss to Logan Storley, who entered that fight 13-1, followed by his move to UFC. He has since beaten Kevin Holland, Shara Magomedov, Jared Cannonier, Sam Patterson and Ruziboev, with his only UFC defeat coming against Ian Machado Garry. The official scorecards confirm Page’s September 2026 win over Ruziboev, while his UFC profile records the same result. ufc.com
That does not magically improve Miguel Bernard’s 0-4 record or make Richard Kiely an appropriate opponent for a 14-1 contender. It does prove that Page’s success was not an elaborate Bellator special effect. You can question how quickly he was advanced, criticize several rebuild fights and still acknowledge that the man is exceptionally difficult to beat.
MMA fans are capable of holding two thoughts simultaneously, provided neither thought involves judging criteria.
🥫 THE MF CAN-O-METER
Michael “Venom” Page: 5.5/10 CANS
There is genuine padding here. The 1-0 versus 0-4 Bernard fight belongs in the Only Cans museum, Haitham ElSayed’s 6-0 was considerably more decorative than functional, and Page received several enormous-favourite matchups after becoming an established Bellator star. Booking 14-1 MVP against 3-1 Richard Kiely immediately after the Lima loss was not subtle. It was matchmaking wearing novelty glasses and a fake moustache.
However, the full record is stronger than the joke suggests. Page beat Rainey at 9-2, Burrell at 10-4, Holloway at 7-1, Daley at 40-16-2, Houston at 8-0, Anderson at 17-3 and former champion Lima in a rematch. His successful UFC run has since removed any sensible doubt about whether he belonged at elite level.
VERDICT: GUILTY OF RECEIVING REGULAR DELIVERY BOXES FROM THE BELLATOR CANNERY. NOT GUILTY OF BUILDING AN ENTIRE CAREER ON RUBBISH OPPONENTS.
MVP’s record was managed, particularly during the first Lima rebuild, but it was not manufactured. Bellator occasionally treated him like a sports car being transported through a minefield, yet he still defeated enough credible opponents to prove the engine worked once somebody removed the protective packaging.
If this investigation has inspired you to start padding your own record by submitting newcomers at open mat, at least look spectacular while committing statistical fraud.
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