Michael Venom Page rates Richard Kiely as nothing more than a loud-mouthed Conor McGregor impersonator ahead of his clash with the Irishman at Bellator Dublin.
Kiely welcomes MVP to his backyard on Friday night, promising to shock the fight world by inflicting defeat on one of Great Britain’s brightest stars.
MVP is aiming to bounce back after the first loss of his pro career and accepted the contest only after an onslaught of taunts from Kiely.
‘Everyone has different strengths,’ he told Metro.co.uk. ‘My strength is being able to transfer my ability into the cage, his strength is being able to talk his way into the cage.
“I know that everyone – even in here – thinks that he’s gonna’ win…but he’s the one that’s in for a shock.” –@RichardKielyMMA
Catch up on the highlights from the #BellatorDublin presser between @MichaelPage247 and Richard Kiely now! pic.twitter.com/9F58J5eoaX
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) July 25, 2019
‘I feel a lot of guys like him have seen the pattern Conor McGregor has left and tried to replicate it. The difference is, Conor McGregor could back up everything he said.
‘He’s actually genuinely an amazing fighter. It’s not the same, but everyone jumps on the bandwagon. The Irish are so quick-witted and they love fighting, but they can’t all fight.
‘Conor McGregor – amazing, Richard Kiely? Not so much. You can see by his kickboxing career he wasn’t a great fighter.
‘You can see from his MMA career, he’s not a great fighter. But, he has the ability to talk his way into a fight.’
Kiely is 3-1 in his MMA career, while Page is 14-1 and fresh off an impressive stint in Bellator’s welterweight grand prix.
‘I can’t even imagine it,’ was Page’s response when asked what he’d do if he were to lose to Kiely.
MVP, though, is not concerned by the potential hostility of a famously raucous Irish crowd. In fact, the British fighter would like the contest to go as long as possible.
‘If I could control exactly what I wanted to do, I would make it a very long night for him,’ he explained. ‘I’d embarrass him.
‘I want to be the person to put reality into him. But, the likeliness is I land a well-time shot and he falls.
‘I might not get the chance, but I do want to punish him a little bit. That’s the evil side of me.’
Tickets for Bellator Dublin are on sale now through Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com, as well as the 3Arena box office
