SAITAMA, Japan – [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] added another spectacular highlight to his reel on Saturday when he dished out one of the most one-sided beatdowns in recent memory against [autotag]Shinsho Anzai[/autotag] at Bellator 237.
It was a near-flawless performance from “MVP,” because Page (17-1 MMA, 13-1 BMMA) did everything he wanted in battering Anzai (11-4 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a relentless onslaught of strikes before connecting with a fight-ending right hand for the second-round knockout.
The 173-pound catchweight bout went down at Bellator 237, which took place at Saitama Super Arena. The card aired on Paramount and streamed on DAZN.
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Page’s length caused seriously problems for Anzai from the opening bell, as he stuck the Japanese fighter with some hard jabs. Anzai tried to bullrush his way inside, but he walked into a well-timed counter on nearly every advance. Anzai wouldn’t be discouraged, though, because he continued to push forward despite absorbing taking punches, kicks and flying knees. Anzai got dropped with a clean punch, but he got right back up. Page began to showboat, dancing around the cage as he built confidence and brutalized Anzai with everything in the tool bag. Somehow, though, Anzai survived the round.
Anzai walked into two huge flying knees in the first 12 seconds of the second round and was definitely rocked. He charged forward, though, and walked right into an enormous right hand from Page that send him crashing to the canvas and badly hurt. Referee Jason Herzog didn’t allow any follow-up shots, jumping in at the 0:23 mark of Round 2, giving Page another knockout on his record.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 237 results include:
- Michael Page def. Shinsho Anzai via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:23
- Lorenz Larkin def. Keita Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Kana Watanabe def. Ilara Joanne via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:39
- Goiti Yamauchi def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:11