An ex-Bellator MMA champ wants to make a statement against a
rising
Ultimate Fighting Championship star.
Former two-time Bellator bantamweight king and current Combate
commentator Eduardo
Dantas will be shifting gears soon to go over to the realm of
grappling. The 35-year-old will face Umar
Nurmagomedov in a no-gi featherweight grappling contest at ADXC
7 on Oct. 25 at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. While he was considering continuing his MMA career,
according to an interview with Sherdog, he received an offer he
could not refuse.
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“I was getting ready to take an MMA fight in December when the
promoter of ADXC made me that proposal to face Nurmagomedov, so I
just had to stop my boxing and muay thai preparation to focus on my
jiu-jitsu training,” revealed Dantas.
According to the Nova Uniao representative, the confrontation of a
classical Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and a top Dagestani
wrestler like Umar was his biggest motivation to accept the
invitation.
“Since I started practicing jiu-jitsu, I’ve heard histories of
masters Helio, Carlson and later Rickson showing the efficiency of
jiu-jitsu against all other styles of each generation,” Dantas
observed. “Today, grappling-wise, jiu-jitsu and wrestling are, no
doubt, the most dominant styles, so it will be an honor to
represent my art against a representative of the respected
Dagestani school of wrestling, that is also close to dispute a UFC
title.”
The event takes place one day before UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena
also in Abu Dhabi, which is headlined by a featherweight title
fight between champion Ilia
Topuria and Max
Holloway. With plenty of years left in him, Dantas made it
clear he is not done with MMA yet, but has no expectation on
receiving a UFC contract if he manages to defeat—or better yet,
submit—the UFC’s likely upcoming title challenger.
“I’m a big fan of UFC, but I’m not doing this fight to get a place
there,” “Dudu” admitted. “I accept this challenge because I
consider Umar a great fighter and it will be a great grappling
match. I didn’t go to the UFC because of Mr. Sean Shelby, who said
to one of my managers, Ali, that I already had a lot of kilometers.
If it were for Dana, I was already there, and I have to thank my
friend Jose Aldo for
having talked to him. But while someone who chooses fighters by his
taste, not by numbers or titles, I have no expectation to fight
there.”
When asked to break down an MMA match against Nurmagomedov, the
Brazilian was confident in his skillset.
“Umar evolved a lot [in] his standup skills, but I believe he would
feel my pressure of my boxing and my kicks and would go to his base
style, wrestling, and I wouldn’t run from the ground fighting with
him and would probably submit him with a heel hook or a kneebar.
That’s how I predict an MMA fight with Umar,” the 35-year-old
analyzed.
While ex-Bellator champ has no expectations of joining the UFC
roster, he believes he could go far and climb the rankings in short
order.
“I have no doubt that once in [the] UFC, I would be in the top 10
in less than one year, and would reach the title shot in less than
24 months,” Dantas boasted.
Raised in the Santo Amaro slum in Rio de Janeiro, Dantas was
discovered by Nova Uniao founder Andre
Pederneiras along with Hacran Dias
and Marlon
Moraes. After getting the Bellator title and being hailed as
one of the best bantamweights in the world, ‘Dudu’ opened his own
social project to give back to the community that made him the man
he is today.
“Martial arts saved my life,” Dantas gushed. “My main goal in life
today is give the same opportunity I had, to other poor children of
favelas all over Brazil.”
While the Brazilian has an unquenchable thirst for combat, he found
a second purpose with these various social projects to improve his
community. Whether running programs for children, training students
or rebuilding the area, Dantas has involved himself in more than 85
social projects all across the Brazilian state of Rio de
Janeiro.
“My main work today is to make the bridge between who needs and who
wants to help,” the former two-time Bellator champion and highly
acclaimed jiu-jitsu black belt concluded.
Nurmagomedov is coming off a win over Cory
Sandhagen in the main event of UFC on ABC 7. The undefeated
28-year-old emerged as a title contender and is expected to face
newly crowned bantamweight champion Merab
Dvalishvili in his first attempted title defense. With seven
wins by submission, Dantas most recent appearance in MMA came in
May 2023, where he suffered a decision loss to Denis
Lavrentyev at RCC 15.