UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- After nearly two years of heated back-and-forth, the rivalry between Michael Page and Paul Daley finally came to a head Saturday night when Page won by unanimous decision in the main event of Bellator 216 at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
But the all-out slugfest many expected was far from reality.
Daley and Page spent most of the fight either on the ground or in the clinch, landing few significant strikes throughout the five rounds. Daley continually went for the takedown and was successful on some, but he did not do much damage while in top position. Page landed a few exciting blows, including two flying knees in the fourth, but spent most of the matchup attempting to get out of Daley's control.
The bout appeared even going into the final round, when Daley immediately took the fight to the ground. After a couple of early strikes on top, Page reversed position. He took Daley's back and almost submitted him with a rear-naked choke. After that was unsuccessful, Page landed punches from above as time expired.
All three judges scored the bout 48-47 for Page, who will move on to face Douglas Lima in the quarterfinals of Bellator's Welterweight Grand Prix.
"He didn't come here to fight," Page said. "MVP came here to fight. He was bragging about being a knockout artist, and he's doing more takedowns than he's ever done in his career, ever, and still didn't do s--- on the floor.
"The one and only MVP is here to stay, and I'm taking the belt."
Daley (40-17-2) had the clear experience advantage heading into the bout. Though he split his previous six matchups, they came against top competition, including Rory MacDonald, Lorenz Larkin and Douglas Lima. He had previously faced Tyron Woodley, Jorge Masvidal and Nick Diaz in the UFC and Strikeforce.
Page (14-0), one of the sport's rising stars for his finishing ability during fights and unique celebrations after them, had been begging for this type of challenge for years without getting it. He finally got his opportunity Saturday, and although it might not have been a crowd-pleasing performance, Page came away with a hard-fought win.
Cro Cop adds another win to storied career
MMA legend Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic earned his 10th consecutive win and first under the Bellator banner by defeating Roy Nelson by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). The victory was a rematch of UFC 137 in 2011, when Nelson won via third-round TKO.
Cro Cop landed hard leg kicks throughout the bout and did a good job stuffing Nelson's takedown attempts. Nelson dropped his third straight bout, all three coming at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
"Roy is tough like always," Cro Cop said in the cage afterward. "It was more mentally hard for me than physically. It's always hard to go into rematch when you lose the first fight."
Kongo's late surge lifts him past Minakov
Cheick Kongo defeated the previously undefeated Vitaly Minakov by unanimous decision, putting himself in good position for a potential heavyweight title shot against champion Ryan Bader.
Kongo (30-10-2) was taken down with 3:30 remaining in his bout, and it appeared as if he was going to lose the round and possibly the fight. But with 20 seconds remaining he got up and unloaded a flurry of punches and knees to Minakov's (21-1) head that brought the crowd to their feet.
It might have swayed the final result.
Despite few significant strikes landing, Minakov controlled most of the first round by dictating where the bout went. Kongo did the same in a second round with little action, though he landed a few punches in the final minute to likely win the round.
The third saw Minakov take Kongo down to the mat but he did little from top position. Kongo's last-minute aggressiveness appeared to seal the victory.
The judges scored the bout 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Kongo, who got his eighth straight win.
Loureda impresses in pro debut
Valerie Loureda entered her professional debut at Bellator 216 with plenty of fanfare. It's safe to say she lived up to it.
The 20-year-old taekwondo champion (1-0) landed a left hook to Colby Fletcher's head and followed it up with a hard body kick that sent her opponent to the mat. Loureda then followed it up with a multitude of hammerfists that forced referee Kevin MacDonald to stop the fight 2:55 into the first round.
Fletcher dropped to 1-3.
"This is the moment I've been dreaming of since I was a little girl," Loureda, with tears streaming down her face, said in the cage after the win.
Amasov remains unbeaten after decision win
Yaroslav Amasov's record remained unblemished after defeating MMA veteran Erick Silva by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28) on Saturday at Bellator 216. Amasov used his superior strength and wrestling ability to take Silva to the mat and control the pace of the fight throughout all three rounds. Silva tried on multiple occasions to get up after being pressed against the cage but Amasov threw him back down with ease.
Amasov improved to 21-0 while Silva fell to 20-10.