Eduardo Dantas Vows To Be Champion Again, Talks Bellator 215 Fight

Eduardo Dantas spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Toby Misech tonight at Bellator 215. Highlights are below:

On facing a replacement opponent in Misech: “The main difference is that Toby is a southpaw. But I am used to and I enjoy fighting southpaw strikers. Against him, I expect to put into practice everything I’ve been doing in training. I’m training to be the champion again. I’ll run over anyone who stands in my way. You’ll see how ready I am to be the champion. I don’t simply want to be champion again. I will be champion again. If I get to fight three times this year, I’ll have the belt before year’s end.”

On his loss to Michael McDonald last year: “Michael McDonald did great. He caught me with a hard punch and I collapsed on my foot. It destroyed my ankle. I had no way to continue. My leg went numb and I had no way to get up. Later, I watched an interview with Michael where he said that since he was going to quit fighting, he prayed to God for a quick victory. It turns out that due to a medical error, he lost muscle tissue on one of his arms, and he’d never be able to fight again. He had to retire. I was disappointed I won’t get a rematch, but I’m happy if he has his health.”

On champion Darion Caldwell: “I can see it in his eyes. I know he’s a good fighter. He’s tough and athletic, and he’s aggressive. But all he has is wrestling. Against Horiguchi, he dominated the first two rounds, but by the third round, he just gave up. He fights in a boring style. He uses his size advantage to hold his opponents. But at some point in that fight, I don’t know if he was feeling the strikes, he just gave up. He had everything in his favor, but he still lost.”