Bellator 156: Eduardo Dantas reclaims Bellator MMA bantamweight title
Eduardo Dantas left no doubt who was the better fighter Friday at the Save Mart Center.
Dantas’ speed was too much for his friend and former training partner Marcos Galvao in a unanimous decision to win the Bellator MMA bantamweight title at Bellator 156.
Dantas (18-4) and Galvao (17-7-1) last met in 2013, with Dantas coming out on top by knockout. On Friday night, it was more of the same, only this time it went to the judges. Dantas won every round on all three judges’ scorecards (50-45, 50-44, 50-43).
Dantas lost his title to Joe Warren in 2014 at Bellator 128. Galvao then won the title at Bellator 135.
In other fights shown on Spike TV
▪ Chris Honeycutt, who fights out of Fresno, avenged his last defeat in Fresno, winning by unanimous decision in his first middleweight fight over Mikkel Parlo. The judges scored the bout 29-28, 30-27, 30-27. Honeycutt improved to 8-1, while Parlo fell to 13-3.
Honeycutt fought Paul Bradley in January at the Save Mart Center and lost in the first round by technical knockout.
▪ Former Fresno State wrestler Brandon Halsey (9-2) didn’t have the homecoming he expected, tapping out via triangle choke to former UFC fighter John Salter (12-3, 6 SUBs) at 4:09 of the first round in a middleweight fight.
▪ Bellator newcomer Thiago Jambo (19-4, 5 KOs) stopped Chidi Njokuani (14-5) in the third round, 2:39.
Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, @agalaviz_TheBee
Bellator 156: Galvao vs. Dantas 2
- Bantamweight title bout: Eduardo Dantas (18-4) d. Marcos Galvao (17-7-1) by unanimous decision
- Welterweight co-main event: Thiago Jambo (19-4) d. Chidi Njokuani (14-5) by knockout, 2:39 in the third round
- Middleweight feature bout: John Salter (12-3) d. Brandon Halsey (9-2) by submission, 4:03 in the first round
- Middleweight feature bout: Chris Honeycutt (8-1) d. Mikkel Parlo (13-3) by unanimous decision
Prelims
- Middleweight: Ben Reiter (17-1-1) d. A.J. Matthews (8-5) by unanimous decison
- Light heavyweight: Jermaine McDermott (3-0) d. Blake Watkins (5-1) via TKO at 0:20 in the first round
- Bantamweight: Paul Ruiz (7-3) d. Chris Buron (5-1) by split decision
- Heavyweight: Javy Ayala (9-5) d. Roy Boughton (14-8) via TKO at 3:02 of first round
- Welterweight: Nick Bustamante (4-1) d. Antoine Smith (2-6-1) by majority decision
- Lightweight: Carrington Banks (5-0) defeated C.J. Keith (8-4) by unanimous decision
- Light heavyweight: Jose Cabesas (6-8) d. John Paul Elias (3-1) by KO at 0:25 of first round
- Heavyweight: Chris Lewis (1-0) d. Myron Smith (2-3) by KO at 4:48 of first round
- Lightweight: Luis Jauregui (4-2) d. Ryan Tobar (3-3) by uanimous decision
This story was originally published June 17, 2016 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Bellator 156: Eduardo Dantas reclaims Bellator MMA bantamweight title."