Carlos Condit and Michael “Venom” Page put on a show for the fans as they have throughout their storied fighting careers.

The platform was certainly different for the MMA stars, who met on the mats to test their grappling skills in the main event of Polaris 30, which took place at Fairfield Halls in London. What hasn’t changed is their competitive fire as the two went back-and-forth for the duration of the bout, showing off wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and even a leglock attempt from Condit.

In the end, Page had his hand raised by decision.

Condit made his first in-competition appearance since stepping away from cagefighting in July 2021 following a loss to Max Griffin at UFC 264. “The Natural Born Killer” is a former interim UFC welterweight champion and WEC champion, and has been part of some of the most exciting fights of all time.

More known for his knockout prowess, Page looked comfortable going hold for hold with Condit, and can now claim a victory over the longtime fan favorite.

See the highlights from the bout below, courtesy of UFC Fight Pass.

Check out a live blog of the match by MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck:

Pre-Fight

Michael Page makes his way to the mat, and in the usual “MVP” way, doing his signature cobra pose, and being a showman.

Carlos Condit makes the walk to the Polaris mat to a nice ovation from the London crowd.

Rules

The bout will be one 10-minute round with judges scoring it mat-side should it get to the cards.

Match Rundown

Page faints and seems to be having fun early. After a tie-up, it goes beyond the setup area, and they need to be separated. MVP is very aggressive offensively, while Condit is staying calm and relaxed. As Page moves forward, Condit pulls guard and Page is on top. Condit looking for a hip-bump sweep, but Page does a nice job defending and staying in top position.

Condit getting his legs up for a triangle, now looking for an arm, but Page is able to escape, and they are back on the feet. Three minutes down. Page with a hard takedown on Condit, knocking him out of the required area. They return to the feet and Condit attacks the leg. They hit the mat, Condit trying to lock in a toehold, and MVP is able to work his way to the feet. Beautiful duck under from Page, and he takes Condit down. That was pretty sick.

Action has slowed down a bit, and they get back to the feet. Condit attacks the leg of Page again with just over three minutes to go, and it’s looking nasty. MVP does a nice job avoiding significant damage, sweeps, and Condit stays on top. 50-50 position now.

Condit decides to stand up and they tie up. Referee separates them with two minutes to go. Page defends a shot from Condit. The former WEC champ shoots a single again, Page able to stay upright. Another attempt from Condit, Page sprawls.

Final minute, Page with a duck-under takedown, Condit gets back up. Page shoots a single and forces Condit to the lighting systen, Condit falls over the lighting and disappears. Condit rushes back to the mat. They tie up again, Condit fakes a shot, they collide shoulders and the horn sounds. Super fun and competitive match. Now, to the scorecards we go.

Post-Fight

Page gets the win. Condit looked puzzled by the decision. Frankly, I scored it for Condit as well, but it was very, very close. Page looked solid in there and definitely was impressive.

Condit says he was disappointed he didn’t get the nod, and couldn’t get a submission. He says he wants to return to Polaris as soon as possible.

MMA Fighting – All Posts