Michael “Venom” Page vs. Derek Anderson Full Fight + Behind the Scenes | Bellator 258
Michael “Venom” Page has produced plenty of unusual finishes, but his 2021 fight with Derek Anderson remains one of the clearest examples of what makes his striking so difficult to read. This video combines the complete Bellator 258 fight with behind-the-scenes footage from Page’s night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, giving viewers both the cage action and a look around the performance itself.
The matchup took place at a 175-pound catchweight on the main card of Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. Page entered at 18-1 and carrying a four-fight winning streak. Anderson was 17-3 and had never previously been stopped by strikes.
Michael Page breaks Derek Anderson’s nose at Bellator 258
The first round showed the familiar MVP rhythm almost immediately. Page worked from his long, bladed stance, constantly changing distance and forcing Anderson to reach for him. Anderson tried to close space and eventually pushed Page toward the fence, but the most damaging moments came when he attempted to enter striking range.
Late in the round, Anderson lowered his level as Page fired a high kick. The strike landed directly on Anderson’s face and badly damaged his nose. Anderson somehow remained in the fight and reached the horn, even after Page followed the kick with more offense.
The damage was too severe to continue. Between rounds, the ringside physician examined Anderson and stopped the bout. The official result was a TKO by doctor stoppage at 5:00 of Round 1, moving Page to 19-1 and giving Anderson the first strikes-based stoppage loss of his professional career.
It is an unusual result on paper because the fight technically ends at the five-minute mark rather than at the moment of the kick. Watching the full fight makes the sequence much clearer: Page creates the damage during the round, Anderson survives to the bell, and the doctor ends the contest before Round 2 begins.
The behind-the-scenes footage adds context to a classic MVP performance
The extra footage is what separates this upload from a standard Bellator fight replay. The video follows Page around Bellator 258 as well as showing the entire Anderson fight, putting the stoppage inside the wider rhythm of fight night rather than presenting only the highlight kick.
That format fits Page particularly well. His fights have always carried a strong performance element — the unusual stance, feints, movement and reactions after he lands — but those moments can obscure how calculated much of his offense actually is. Against Anderson, the decisive strike was not random showmanship. Page punished an opponent changing levels and moving into his kicking range.
At the time, the win also had real consequences in the Bellator MMA welterweight picture. Page had suffered the first defeat of his career against Douglas Lima in 2019 and had spent the next two years rebuilding toward another opportunity near the top of the division.
Anderson led directly into MVP’s biggest Bellator run
Five months after beating Anderson, Page finally received his rematch with Lima at Bellator 267 in London. The second fight was far closer than the spectacular Anderson finish, but Page earned revenge by split decision and extended his winning streak to six.
His next major opportunity came against Logan Storley at Bellator 281 in May 2022. With the interim welterweight championship at stake, Page’s long-range striking met one of the strongest wrestling approaches he had faced. Storley repeatedly grounded him and took a split decision over five rounds.
That stylistic contrast is worth revisiting through MMAtown’s Logan Storley vs. MVP no-commentary full fight. Together, the Anderson and Storley fights show two very different versions of a Michael Page bout: one where an opponent entering his striking range pays an immediate price, and another where sustained wrestling changes the entire shape of the contest.
From Bellator star to a UFC middleweight contender
The Bellator footage has gained another layer of relevance since Page moved on from the promotion. The PFL acquired Bellator in 2023, bringing the former promotion’s roster and fight library under the same ownership, while Page eventually left and signed with the UFC.
His UFC run has proved that the unconventional style seen against Anderson was not simply effective against Bellator opposition. After beating Kevin Holland in his Octagon debut and losing a close decision to Ian Machado Garry, Page moved into a run of three consecutive victories.
First came Shara Magomedov in Saudi Arabia in February 2025. Page handed the previously unbeaten striker his first professional loss by unanimous decision. Six months later, he produced an even more significant result at UFC 319, outpointing longtime middleweight contender Jared Cannonier 29-28 on all three scorecards.
MMAtown covered that performance in Michael Page Silences Critics After Beating Jared Cannonier at UFC 319.
Page then returned home to London in March 2026 and defeated Sam Patterson by unanimous decision. That made it three straight wins over Magomedov, Cannonier and Patterson heading into his next assignment.
Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev is next at UFC Paris
The current reason to revisit Page’s Bellator archive is his upcoming middleweight fight with Nursulton Ruziboev. Michael Page vs. Nursulton Ruziboev takes place September 5 at UFC Fight Night: Hooker vs. Parnasse in Paris.
Ruziboev presents another interesting contrast to the Anderson footage. The Uzbek fighter has built his career around finishing ability, with both knockout power and a deep submission record, while Page continues to make opponents solve one of MMA’s strangest distance-management puzzles.
The Anderson fight remains a particularly useful example of what can happen when that puzzle is solved incorrectly. One mistimed entry was enough for Page to land the kick that effectively ended the fight before the first round had technically finished.
After Paris, the UFC calendar moves on to UFC Noche and then UFC 331, but Page’s immediate focus is Ruziboev. More than five years after the Derek Anderson stoppage, the core challenge he presents has changed surprisingly little: opponents still have to cross an awkward amount of space without giving one of MMA’s most creative counter-strikers the opening he is waiting for.