Michael Page ended his MMA comeback with a single strike.
Following a one-fight bare-knuckle boxing cameo against Mike Perry, Page (20-2) made his return to the cage on Friday night as the main card opener of Bellator 292 — and his welterweight scrap against Goiti Yamauchi (28-5) provided one of the most gruesome highlights MMA has seen all year.
Page appeared to badly injure Yamauchi’s kneecap with his first strike — a kick to Yamauchi’s right leg — just 26 seconds into the contest.
“It’s hard to even celebrate when he’s right there,” Page said. “I’m actually a fan of him and his work. It was a pleasure to grace the cage with him, but I really do wish him a speedy recovery.”
Video of the grisly finish can be seen below.
You can see MVP's kick do the damage #Bellator292
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 11, 2023
(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/tJ9iN60ar2
Ok this angle is insane. Looks like Yamauchi’s kneecap exploded?! pic.twitter.com/GmCIBKCKzb
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 11, 2023
The result was Page’s 11th TKO/KO win under the Bellator umbrella, the most ever in the promotion’s history.
Afterward, Page called for a title shot against welterweight champion Yaroslav Amosov.
Complete Bellator 292 results can be seen here.