D. Dantas (photo) won at Bellator 177 (Photo: Bellator)
Even though he knew he wouldn't lose his belt in case of defeat, Dudu Dantas stayed focused and won Leandro Higo by split decision in the main fight of Bellator 177, which took place in Hungary, last Friday (14). As the then challenger Higo did not make the weight limit for the category (61 kg.), the duel did not put the bantamweight title at stake and lasted just three rounds, instead of the five that are customary in title fights.
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Even without making weight, the debutant Leandro Higo, who was already champion of the RFA and LFA (smaller events in the United States), gave work to Dudu Dantas and won in one of the side judges' contests. Interestingly, the results were quite different. The two judges who gave the champion the victory scored the three rounds for him, while whoever saw Higo's victory scored two rounds for him and one for Dantas.
In the second most important fight of the night, John Macapá, former UFC fighter, suffered his first defeat in Bellator after being overcome by Daniel weichel. The German also beat the Brazilian by split decision, in a much more balanced fight than the main fight of the night. Macapá won at least one round in all the rounds, with one of the judges giving him the victory by two rounds to one.
Next Friday (21), Bellator returns to the United States for its 178th edition, which will feature a featherweight title fight. The former champion Patricky Pitbull tries to get back to holding the category title in his fourth fight against rival Daniel Strauss, current holder of the belt. In the three previous duels, the Brazilian won two, but lost the last one to the North American.
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