Eduardo Dantas Comments On Pulling Out Of Bellator 144
As noted, Bellator officials confirmed on Wednesday morning that Eduardo Dantas (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) has suffered an injury, and his rematch with reigning champion Marcos Galvao (17-6-1 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) at Bellator 144 has been postponed.
Dantas has since released this statement:
“It was one of my last hard training sessions for the fight, I was in the final stretch. 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.”
Now, Brandon Halsey vs. Rafael Carvalho for the vacant middleweight title will be moved from the co-main event spot to the main event.
Bellator 144 takes place Oct. 23 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Spike following prelims online.
