Former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Eduardo Dantas was forced out of a rematch with Marcos Galvao this week due to a rib injury suffered in training, and he says he’s hoping to still have that fight before the end of 2015.
Dantas was Champion when the two former friends and training partners first fought, and he knocked Galvao out to defend the title. He then lost that belt to Joe Warren, who in turn was submitted by Galvao. Dantas released a statement late this week explaining what happened, and added that he believes he’ll be ready to fight again before the year is out.
“It was one of my last hard training sessions for the fight, I was in the final stretch,” Dantas said (via MMAFighting.com). “Unfortunately, and unintentionally, Hacran Dias hit me. I had trouble breathing at the moment, I got desperate, and was taken to the hospital. I was advised, against my will, to pull out of the fight against ‘Loro’ because of a dislocation in one of my ribs.
“I was waiting for this chance since Oct. 11, 2014, the day after my fight against Joe Warren, when I lost my belt. Since then, I wished for another opportunity to fight for the title seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Destiny wanted this not to happen on the 23rd, but I can’t wait for this to become true. I’m sorry about this incident and I ask for apologies to all parts involved (promotion, sponsors and fans), and especially ‘Loro,’ who I’m sure was working hard so we could fight again. Just like me, I can imagine that all his efforts during these months were focused on this fight. But we’re high-level athletes who train to the limit, and I believe he’ll understand what happened to me. I hope I can recover quickly so I can still fight him in 2015.
“I’ve got a lot of messages from my fans through social media, and that makes me work even harder to recover and come back faster to training and to the Bellator cage. Thank you all for the love.”
Penick’s Analysis: This would have been a great bantamweight rematch for Bellator, and a great opportunity for both fighters, so it’s unfortunate that it’s been delayed. Still, it’s likely the fight that’s still happening next, so all that’s changed is the date. Galvao would like to avenge that decisive title loss to his former protege, and Dantas is trying to recapture the belt. There’s a lot of meaning in this fight for both of them, and whenever Dantas is ready to go it will remain an interesting rematch.
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