Three years after their first bout, Eduardo Dantas' speed remained a major advantage against former teammate Marcos Galvao, leading to a dominant, one-sided unanimous decision victory Friday night in the main event of Bellator 156 at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The fight was never in doubt, as Dantas (18-4) won every round on all three judges' scorecards (50-45, 50-44, 50-43.)
Even before the opening bell when the two fighters met in the center of the cage with "Big" John McCarthy, "DuDu" stared into Galvao's eyes, where "Loro" wasn't able to keep eye contact with his former protégé. In the opening round, Dantas began to dazzle and confuse Galvao (17-7-1) with his hand speed and footwork, not allowing Galvao to land any substantial damage.
As the fight wore on, Dantas poured on the offense, whipping devastating kicks to the lead leg of Galvao, eventually leading to heavy bruising. According to CompuStrike, Dantas landed 33 of 48 leg kicks. By the third round, the right eye of Galvao began to swell shut, and that's when Dantas started to land the heavy leather. The 27-year-old Nova Uniao fighter was able to throw combinations nearly at will with no risk of retaliation from the 33-year-old Galvao.
The fourth round was more of the same, with Dantas landing a right head kick, then a strong uppercut. An uppercut is what dropped Galvao in the second round of their first fight in 2013, allowing Dantas to defend his then title for the first time. In the fifth, Dantas was able to cruise. Galvao pulled guard midway through but was unable to hold onto the grappling position.
This was the third instance the rematch between these two has been booked. The first time it was booked for last October at Bellator 144, but Dantas pulled out because of a rib injury. The fight was then moved to Bellator 150 in February, where Galvao was removed from the card the day of weigh-ins due to food poisoning.
Moving forward, the most likely contender for Dantas would be Darrion Caldwell (9-0), who dismantled former title holder Joe Warren within one round back in March. Warren was the man who dethroned Dantas in 2014.
Njokuani finishes Jambo in final round
Chidi Njokuani patiently waited until the third round to land his best shot of the fight. The thunderous left body kick was all he needed to drop Thiago Jambo to the canvas, and finish the fight with punches 2:39 into the final round. Njokuani (15-4, NC) was able to land several push kicks through the fight but was unable to land anything significant until a stiff right hand late in the second round. Heading into the final frame, Njokuani appeared to be ahead comfortably on the judges' cards but still went for the finish. "I knew if I didn't get the finish, my coaches are going to kick my ass when we got back, so I had to do something, I had to push the pace and I had to keep going," Njokuani said. "I felt him breaking so I knew it was my time to finish the fight." Njokuani continues an impressive run, winning five straight overall, but was supposed to face a greater test. The 27-year-old was originally scheduled to fight former welterweight titlist Douglas Lima, but Lima was rescheduled to fight Paul Daley July 16 in London. Jambo (18-5, NC) took the fight on a week's notice, and was able to maintain position against the cage for a sizable amount of time in the first two rounds but was unable to capitalize.
Salter submits Halsey in Round 1
After a rough 2015 in Bellator, former middleweight champ Brandon Halsey was looking to get back into title contention with a win. John Salter didn't get the memo, and put his name into title contention by submitting Halsey with a triangle choke 4:03 into the opening frame.
"I couldn't wait on him to impose his will," Salter said. "Halsey pretty much cleaned out the division. I beat him in a round. I think I should be next."
In the opening seconds, the UFC vet Salter (12-3) landed a left head kick that opened up a cut near the right eye of Halsey (9-2). It appeared to affect Halsey's vision, with Salter able to stay at his range, throwing multiple kicks. The end came when Halsey was able to get a takedown, but Salter quickly sunk in a triangle, forcing the former champ to tap. This was Halsey's first bout since losing to Rafael Carvalho in October with a liver kick TKO. In his fight before that, he had his title stripped by not making weight. For Salter, it's his fourth consecutive victory and second since joining Bellator MMA. All 12 of his career wins are by finish, with six by submission and six by KO/TKO.
Honeycutt scores win in Bellator middleweight debut
The last time Chris Honeycutt fought in Fresno, he suffered his first career loss to Paul Bradley. This time around things went his way. In his Bellator MMA middleweight debut, Honeycutt displayed improved striking to defeat Danish kickboxer Mikkel Parlo by unanimous decision. Honeycutt, a high level collegiate wrestler, had multiple takedown attempts stuffed by Parlo, but looked better as the fight went on, landing 111 arm strikes to 23.
"It feels great, he's a striker, he's a kickboxer. I'm a wrestler," Honeycutt said. "I wanted to show of my new skills. Last time I fought here, it didn't obviously turn out the way I wanted but I'm glad I got to showcase my striking."
