Michael ‘Venom’ Page demands apology after ref called him ‘a piece of s**t’ at Bellator Dublin
MICHAEL “VENOM” PAGE has demanded referee Dan Miragliotta apologises to him after claiming the official pushed him and called him a “piece of s***”.
The alleged extraordinary incident occurred last night after MVP triumphed over hometown hero Richard Kiely at Bellator: Dublin with a stunning first round KO.
Londoner Page dominated his Irish rival from the off before finishing him off with a flying knee.
The 32-year-old also mocked his opponent, at one point even pretending to take a selfie with him while Kiely was on the mat.
Ref Miragliotta was unimpressed with “Venom” and his antics and deducted a point from MVP moments before his emphatic knockout.
But Page saved even more explosiveness for his post-fight media duties, accusing the official of verbally abusing him.
He said: “Dan has a personal issue with me, I don’t know where it comes from. My second Bellator fight, you’re trying to get into the zone. Everyone knows me, I’m a showman.
“I came out with my glasses and he said, ‘Take them off, this isn’t Hollywood’. This is the first time I’d ever met him.
“Straight away I felt a bit rubbed up the wrong way. But I let it go and put on a show. To see that again, that was disgusting.
“Not only did he minus me a point and pick me up from a fight-ending position, he pushed me at the end and called me a piece of s***.”
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Page added: “Nobody should do that. That says to me there’s something personal there, but I don’t know what it is. But I demand an apology. He’s never refereeing me ever again.
“My coach heard [him call me a piece of s***] and told him to come upstairs and go outside.
“We’re from London Shoot and we don’t mess about. I’m like his child. If you’re going to talk to my child like that, we’re going upstairs and we’re going to go to war now.”
Kiely has been hit with a £1000 fine for giving MVP the finger during the weigh-in.
While the MMA promotion are also reviewing Page’s unsportsmanlike conduct in the fight.