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Michael Page out of Bellator 151, RFA champ Gilbert Smith in vs. Fernando Gonzalez

Michael Page

Michael Page

Fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see Michael Page show off his flashy fighting style again in the Bellator cage.

Page (9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) is out of his scheduled Bellator 151 co-main event showdown with Fernando Gonzalez (24-13 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) for undisclosed reasons. Stepping in to replace “Venom” is the now former RFA welterweight champion Gilbert Smith (12-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Bellator officials confirmed the switch to MMAjunkie

Gonzalez vs. Smith is the co-headliner of the March 4 event, which takes place at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

Smith will make his Bellator debut after he captured RFA’s 170-pound title with a submission of Benjamin Smith this past June and a TKO of Bristol Marunde to defend the gold in October. “Midnight Magic” was featured on the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter 17,” but was let go from the UFC after just one official loss. He found success outside the promotion, winning seven of his past nine fights.

Eager to spoil Smith’s Bellator debut will be Gonzalez. The 32-year-old has won all four of his appearances under the Bellator banner including notable victories over Karo Parisyan, Marius Zaromskis and Karl Amoussou.

Also confirmed for Bellator 151’s main card is the debut of bantamweight Sirwan Kakai (12-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). “Zohan” recently signed with Bellator after he was released from the UFC with a 1-1 record and is set to collide with six-fight Bellator veteran Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who will bring consecutive victories into the matchup.

The latest Bellator 151 main card includes:

  • Joe Warren vs. Darrion Caldwell
  • Fernando Gonzalez vs. Gilbert Smith
  • Bubba Jenkins vs. Goiti Yamauchi
  • Sirwan Kakai vs. Joe Taimanglo

For more on Bellator 151, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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