Eduardo Dantas will be the first Bellator champion to make a title defense in 2014 as he will be challenged by Anthony Leone in the main event of tomorrow night’s Bellator 111 from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Dantas will be stepping into the cage for the first time since defending the Bellator title last year at Bellator 89 against Marcos Galvao, which he won by knockout in the second round.
His fight against Leone will mark his first fight in 386 days, which is the longest time he has had between two fights in his career.
Leone was not the initial opponent for Dantas when this fight card was announced as 2013 Summer Series tournament winner Rafael Silva was booked for the fight. However, Silva suffered a knee injury last month and it forced him out of the fight.
Bellator turned to season nine tournament winner Joe Warren to step up to take the fight against Dantas, but he was still recovering from a previous injury. With Warren being unable to take the fight, Bellator used the “Tournament Champion Replacement Clause,” to book Leone against Dantas. Leone lost to Silva in the Summer Series tournament final and prior to that defeat, he had won four in a row, including a win over former Bellator champion Zach Makovsky.
When Dantas looks at his opponent on Friday night, he knows that Leone is a fighter that is worthy of this title shot but he knows that Leone is not a better fighter than him.
“My opponent Anthony Leone is a great fighter and worthy contender for my title,” Dantas said. “He has good experience and fights for a long time. But to speak directly on the point, I’m just a much better fighter than him.”
A potential advantage that Leone could have in this fight would be his wrestling. He has used this to his advantage during his fights in Bellator and will likely look to stay away from a kickboxing fight. Dantas does admit that Leone’s wrestling game may be better than his, but he will not know that until they met on Friday. In Dantas mindset, wrestling can not win the fight and it only influences the position.
“Maybe he can wrestle a little better than me – maybe, I need to confirm this – but there is no doubt that I’m superior to Anthony Leone with my striking and my grappling. Wrestling can’t win the fight though – it only influences the position. One cannot achieve victory in the fight without striking or submissions, and those are what I do best.”
Dantas is confident that he will walk away with the victory on Friday night in Oklahoma. If he is able to do that, he will tie Makovsky for the most wins in the Bellator bantamweight division at six and would become only the fifth fighter in Bellator history to make two successful title defenses. In fact, Dantas sees this fight ending the same way his last fight ended, with a knockout in the second round.
“Anthony Leone is a respectable opponent but I am confident I will beat him and keep my title. I believe I will finish him by KO in the second round.”