Michael Page showed no sign of ‘Venom’ tonight as he did as little as possible to edge out a unanimous decision win over an also overly cautious Sam Patterson.

Round One

Page pressing the action from the opening bell here, taking up much of the Octagon real estate, but not engaging yet.

Patterson a bit hesitant on the outside for now. Almost two minutes into the fight and Patterson steps into a one-two that Page avoids.

Page with a couple of punches now and gets a grazing counter in return.

Inside low kick for Page. Constant pressure from ‘Venom’, but very little output.

A minute to go in the round and the crowd is getting increasingly restless that nothing’s happening. Body kick from Page barely lands. He darts forward looking for punches.

Spinning head kick attempt from Page late in the round is comfortably blocked.

Round Two

Page back to pressuring. He flashes out a couple of punches. Occasional jab attempt from Patterson, but Page keeps sliding out of range with his fast footwork.

Page tries to land an overhand as Patterson gets a bit more aggressive.

Two minutes of the round gone and Patterson drives into the clinch against the cage. He can’t really do anything with it though and half a minute later Page escapes.

Patterson with a glancing leg kick. A couple of wide hooks from Page miss the mark.

Right hand from Page. Now another big lull as both men fail to pull the trigger.

Fast right hand from Page lands. Patterson able to clinch up against the cage again late in the round.

Round Three

Lets see if either fighter can find a way to shift into first gear here in the final round…

Patterson fires off a couple of hooks that miss. Now he’s pressing forward behind the jab and forces ‘Venom’ to treat. Stomping kick to the knee from Page.

Patterson clinches up against the cage. He’s not really doing much with these clinch opportunities though. They jockey for position now as the stalemate continues.

Page escapes with three minutes left in the round. Patterson misses a punch and Page counters with an uppercut. Patterson clinches up against the cage again. Page reverses, but Patterson turns back into him. They continue to jockey for position back and forth. The ref breaks them up.

Missed head kick attempt from Patterson. 90 seconds to go. Right hand from Page. Patterson darts forward but just runs into the cage as Page sidesteps him.

Calf kick from Patterson. Left hook for Page. Now a right hand off the back foot as Patterson came forward.

Patterson pressures into the clinch with 15 seconds to go. This bore-fest is almost over.

Decision

A dreadfully dull fight then, but Page’s mere handful of strikes over 15 minutes was still more than Patterson managed and gets him the unanimous decision win (30-27, 29-28 x2).