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Former Champion Quits Bellator MMA- Wants UFC Instead

Published 10/09/2020, 7:30 AM EDT

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Eduardo Dantas has parted ways with Bellato wants to join the UFC. If the former bantamweight champion joins the promotion, the UFC will have added two former Bellator champions to its roster, in the space of a few months. ‘Dudu’ (21-7) was a two-time bantamweight champion with Bellator. He won his belt for the first time against Zach Makovsky in April 2013. He defended the belt twice against Marcos Galvao and Anthony Leone, before losing his belt to Joe Warren. 

Dantas won his belt for the second time against Marcos Galvao, and then defended it against the man he lost the belt to the first time, Joe Warren. He lost his belt against Darrion Caldwell in 2017 and has not had a title fight since then. The fighter moved up to featherweight in the subsequent period. 

 Read: “I’m the best 155er in the world” Michael Chandler makes bold statement ahead of his UFC debut 

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Eduardo Dantas eyeing a move to the UFC

While speaking on his current status Dantas said, “I fought in June and planned on fighting again in November or December. But I had a trip coming up, and then the coronavirus pandemic started, and that’s when I realized my contract was already over. If I were to re-sign with them, it would be for two more years.

‘Dudu’ continued, “I’m 31 now, and two more years would be too long. We decided not to sign anything and study other things. It’s time to pursue something bigger. Not only test my value (in the market) but to fly higher, see what the future holds for me. Something that makes my heart pump faster, what wakes me up early to train two or three times a day. I need to fly higher.”

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Dantas continued, “There’s only one path, one thing that will make my heart pump harder and get me out of bed to work harder than ever, to use all my experience and my youth, and that’s the UFC,” Dantas said. “That’s the only path, the place where I would desire the most.”

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Eduardo has been with the Bellator since 2011. In the nine years with the promotion, he has established himself as one of the finest bantamweights. Though he is 2-3 in his last five fights. He is still only 31 years old and has a wealth of experience. 

The UFC’s bantamweight division is one of its most exciting divisions at the moment. The likes of Aljamain Sterling, Cory Sanhagen, Petr Yan are amongst the best fighters in the world. The addition of ‘Dudu’ will make the bantamweight division even more exciting.

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Would you like to see Dantas in the UFC? If yes, who would you like to see him face on his debut?

 

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Written by:

Kevin Binoy

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Kevin Binoy is an MMA author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA writing team, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.
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