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‘Pokémon GO’: Watch MMA Fighter Roll Poké Ball At Opponent After Devastating KO

By Lawrence Arboleda
Published on: 20:26 PST, Jul 16, 2016

Welterweight MMA fighter Michael “Venom” Page is known for delivering devastating knockouts to his opponents in the Octagon, but at Bellator 158 in London, he showed the whole world that he is just like everybody else — a Pokémon GO fanatic.

After dropping Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos to the canvas with a perfectly-timed flying knee in the second round, Page celebrated his victory Pokémon GO-style by pretending to roll a poké ball at him, as reported by the Bleacher Report.

As soon as Santos landed on the mat, the jubilant Page headed straight to the side of the Octagon to retrieve his hat and roll a Poké ball as if in an attempt to catch him.

Yep, that’s one Pokémon GO player who is willing to do whatever it takes to catch ’em all.

Meanwhile, Pokémon GO mania is showing no signs of slowing down as Pokémon GO-related stories continue to proliferate the web. If you see someone, whether a child or an adult, walking around town with eyes glued to their phones, there’s a big probability that he or she isn’t texting or browsing Facebook but is searching for Pokémon.

Pokémon GO, a game for smartphones where players can look for imaginary creatures superimposed on the real world using augmented reality technology, has not only captured the collective imaginations of the general public, it also caused a major cultural shift on many fronts. While the game still requires that we look at our smartphone screens, it also encourages players to go outside and, at times, interact with other players who also happen to be looking for Pokémon.

There had been many instances where players from different locations spontaneously gathered at a specific location in order to catch a rare Pokémon. For instance, Vimeo user Woodzys shared a video of a massive throng gathering in New York City’s Central Park to catch a Vaporeon, a rare water-based Pokémon.

Last week, Bellevue police officers rushed to Downtown Park after being alerted by 911 calls only to discover around 100 people competing to catch a Squirtle. The officers told the players that they had to leave because the park was closed. No one was arrested, but the police warned the players not to go to a particular place just because “you’re on an app.”

“Just because you’re on an app and it tells you to go to a certain place, doesn’t mean it’s OK. If you were using your GPS and it told you to drive off of a cliff, you wouldn’t,” Bellevue Police spokesperson Seth Tyler told the Reporter. “People just have to use common sense and also make sure they’re being safe.”

Not all Pokémon GO-related stories are amusing, as there are some players who stumbled into trouble or harm in their attempt to catch the next rare digital creature. In Missouri, four people have been reported to have used the game to lure Pokémon players to a specific spot so they could rob them, as reported by the Guardian.

In Riverton, Wyoming, 19-year-old Shayla Wiggins was searching for Pokémon on the bands of the Wind River when she discovered a dead man’s body in the water, the Washington Post reports.

Pokémon GO is now the most successful and most profitable product that uses augmented reality technology. While it does engage players in ways befitting the new era of digital gaming, it still remains to be seen whether the game’s popularity will last.

“It’s a craze,” said Pachter.

It may have a long shelf life for a craze, he said — at least as long as it takes most people to catch every Pokémon — but he doesn’t see it lasting forever.

“Pet Rocks lasted more than 100 days, too,” he added.

To this day, the launch of Pokémon GO continues to have numerous unintended consequences in the real world.

[Image via BellatorMMA/YouTube]

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