Eduardo Dantas will look to defend his Bellator MMA Bantamweight Championship when he takes on Darrion “The Wolf” Caldwell at Bellator 184 in October.
Also on the card is a pivotal featherweight contest between former divisional champion Daniel Straus and Emmanuel Sanchez.
The bout was announced late Friday, first reported by MMA Junkie.
Eduardo Dantas vs. Darrion Caldwell
Dantas (20-4) is in his second reign as Bellator MMA Bantamweight Champion. In 2014, Dantas lost the championship to multi-time champion Joe Warren. A 2015 win over Mike Richman earned him a shot at then-champion Marcos Galvao in 2016. Dantas defeated Galvao to regain his title. He then defended his belt against Joe Warren in December. He was set to defend for a 2nd time against former LFA and RFA Champion; Leandro Higo in April of this year. Higo coincidentally replaced Caldwell, so due to short-notice, he missed weight. The bout then became a non-title bantamweight main event. After three rounds, Dantas won a close split decision.
Caldwell (10-1) suplexed and submitted former champion Joe Warren in March of 2016 to earn himself a #1 contender fight against Joe Taimanglo in July. Caldwell was a massive favorite but was shockingly submitted just 9-seconds into round three. In his most recent outing, Caldwell was a given a rematch against Taimanglo. He won a comfortable unanimous decision to earn himself a shot at gold. He has fought exclusively for Legacy FC (3-0) and Bellator MMA (7-1) for his entire career. The 29-year-old thinks his stellar wrestling background can cause serious problems for “Dudu” Dantas.
Daniel Straus vs. Emmanuel Sanchez
Former Featherweight Champion; Daniel Straus (25-7) enters the fight having just lost the title at the hands of longtime rival Patricio “Pitbull”. That was the fourth meeting between the two, the third time “Pitbull” won, and the second time “Pitbull” finished him.
26-year-old Sanchez (15-3) possesses the fighting style of every great Mexican fighter that came before him. He is 7-2 when competing in the Bellator MMA cage and has won two-straight, beating former WSOF Champion Georgi Karakhanyan as well as former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Marcos Galvao.
Bellator 184 will take place on October 4 at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, OK.
More bouts should be announced in the coming days.
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