Champion Eduardo Dantas had already been studying Darrion Caldwell when the injury bug caused him to re-route a month before Bellator 177’s championship headliner. With Caldwell out, in came fellow countryman Leandro Higo (17-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a promotional newcomer bringing an eight-fight win streak and an LFA belt to become Dantas’ new challenger. But while the change posed the slight inconvenience of forcing him to re-think his strategy, Dantas (19-4 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) sees the bright side. After all, Higo’s game might just make for the type of exciting stylistic pairing that Dantas, who fought to a decision in his past four outings, has been looking for. “Every time I fight, especially when it’s a title defense, I take that pressure (to finish) off me, and I try to enjoy the fight for five rounds,” Dantas told MMAjunkie. “The knockout is about timing.
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