Michael Page Says Bellator 281 Foe Logan Storley’s Striking ‘Nowhere Near Me’

Michael Page doesn’t need a belt around his waist to make him the biggest star in U.K. MMA. In his mind, he’s already reached that pinnacle.

“Anybody that doesn’t understand that already is blind. I don’t believe I need a belt to do that,” Page said at Bellator media day. “That was my goal anyway. I think I’ve done enough to have proven myself.”

That said, the flamobyant British striker will get his first opportunity to vie for championship gold when he faces Logan Storley for the interim 170-pound strap in the Bellator 281 main event at the SSE Arena in London on Friday. Storley is a replacement for reigning welterweight king Yaroslav Amasov, who withdrew from the event to defend his native Ukraine against Russian invasion.

“It’s a crazy situation. That fact that I can sit here and tell anybody the reason I’m not fighitng this particular opponent is because they’ve gone out to war is crazy in itself,” Page said. “It shows you the place in the world we are right now. My feelings in this matter are not important at all because of what is going on. For me, I wish Amasov well, I wish his family well. And I hope everything comes to some kind of final conclusion so nobody’s suffering out there.”

Still, there is the matter of preparing for a different opponent. Both Storley and Amasov utilize wrestling-heavy approaches, but Page says that the American has a more common style. Regardless, “Venom” is also quite accustomed to matchups changing on short notice.

“Although they’re both exceptionally good at wrestling, different styles of wrestling, I find Logan’s style more familiar to what the majority of people in MMA do vs. Amasov’s style,” Page said. “So I think it’s technically a better adjustment. For me, it’s like getting any change of opponent any time. For my whole career, I’ve had constant pullouts and change of opponents, it’s quite normal. So it’s not something that’s shocking.”

Storley showcased a different aspect to his game in his most recent outing, as he relied on his striking to take a five-round verdict against Neiman Gracie in the Bellator 274 headliner on Feb. 19 to improve his career mark to 13-1. However, Page isn’t concerned about the striking abilities of the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler from the University of Minnesota.

“It’s nowhere near me,” Page said of Storley’s standup. “It’s not even something I’m even considering in this fight.”

What Page has considered is what it means to be the interim champ, and he believes there is no asterisk attached to the belt he plans on taking home.

“I look at it as I am the champ,” he said. “I’m about to take a belt home.” I’m the champoin of this division. The only differenc is, when Amasov’s situation is settled and he’s able to come back, he gets to jump to the front of the line to fight the champ.”