Bellator 292: Britons Michael 'MVP' Page and Linton Vassell earn stunning knockouts

Britons Michael 'Venom' Page and Linton Vassell some secured ascendant first-round knockout wins astatine Bellator 292 successful San Jose, California.

Vassell, 39, finished chap heavyweight Valentin Moldavksy connected the crushed aft dropping the Russian with a close hook.

The victories enactment some Page and Vassell successful beardown contention for rubric shots.

Page is ranked 2nd successful the Bellator welterweight rankings with lone champion Yaroslav Amosov and Logan Storley supra him, portion Vassell is apt to leapfrog Moldavsky into 2nd successful the heavyweight listings, down rubric holder Ryan Bader.

• Watch Bellator 292 main paper successful afloat connected BBC iPlayer
• Watch Bellator 292 prelims successful afloat connected BBC iPlayer

'MVP' returns to winning ways successful style

London's Page was looking to bounce backmost from decision to American Storley for the interim welterweight rubric past May.

Following the loss, Page wanted a swift instrumentality to enactment but with nary suitable opponents disposable astatine the time, decided to effort bareknuckle boxing wherever helium suffered decision to Mike Perry successful August.

Page regrouped aft that combat and contempt harbouring ambitions of script-writing and acting, reaffirmed his volition to triumph a satellite rubric earlier retirement.

Page's unsocial kickboxing benignant has shaped a palmy vocation which yielded 20 wins from 22 bouts going into the combat with Yamauchi.

Japan-born Brazilian Yamauchi, 30, meanwhile, entered the contention with a Bellator-record 9 submissions to his sanction and a three-fight triumph streak.

The combat was implicit aft a azygous onslaught arsenic Page delivered a footwear to Yamauchi's close leg, causing him to driblet to the canvas grimacing successful symptom with an injured knee.

The referee instantly waved disconnected the contest, presenting triumph to Page, portion Yamauchi acknowledged decision with a thumbs-up, congratulating Page arsenic medics attended to his injury.

"First and foremost I privation to privation Goiti a speedy recovery. It's hard to privation to observe erstwhile he's there," said Page successful the post-fight interview.

"I'm a instrumentality of him and his work. It was a pleasance to stock the cage with him.

"I enactment hard to beryllium here. I'm dynamic, it looks similar it comes casual but I bust each time successful the gym to enactment a amusement connected for everybody.

"You privation to spot maine combat Amosov? Let's marque it happen."

Vassell avenges Moldavsky defeat

Milton Keynes' Vassell fought Moldavsky successful 2019, suffering a unanimous determination defeat.

Following that bout, Vassell went connected a four-fight triumph streak to emergence up the heavyweight rankings, mounting up the rematch with Moldavsky.

The Russian, 31, past fought successful August wherever a gathering with Steve Mowry ended successful a no-contest pursuing an accidental eye-poke.

The aboriginal stages of the archetypal circular saw Moldavsky utilising his grappling, taking Vassell down and looking for submissions, which were defended by the Briton.

After getting backmost to his feet, Vassell started to enforce himself and pursuing a near jab-right hook combination, Moldavsky dropped to 1 knee.

Vassell mounted his hostile and aft landing a dense elbow, the referee stopped the contest.

The wins sees Vassell go the fig 1 contender for Bader's heavyweight loop arsenic helium looks to avenge different decision and effort to triumph his maiden MMA satellite title.

Vassell mislaid to Bader successful 2017 astatine light-heavyweight.

"I had a imagination I was gonna driblet him astatine immoderate constituent and decorativeness with crushed and lb and that's what happened," said Vassell.

"You cognize my crushed and lb is brutal, I threw immoderate elbows and the referee stopped it.

"Its Ryan Bader [next]. He knows it, I cognize it, it's going to hap soon. [My weight] is perfect, the magic number, it shows with my 5 wins and 4 stoppages."