Eduardo Dantas vs. Leandro Higo set for Bellator 177 following Darrion Caldwell injury

With Darrion Caldwell out, Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Leandro Higo will be fighting Eduardo Dantas for the Bellator MMA bantamweight belt.

It’ll be an all-Brazilian clash for the Bellator MMA bantamweight title next month in Budapest, Hungary. After Darrion Caldwell withdrew with an undisclosed injury, the promotion signed the highly-touted Leandro Higo to replace him against reigning champion Eduardo Dantas. So it’ll be Bellator champ vs. Legacy Fighting Alliance champ at Bellator 177.

Dantas (19-4) had lost his Bellator title to Joe Warren in October 2014, but after beating Mike Richman, the Nova Uniao talent brilliantly picked apart Marcos Galvao last June to recapture his crown. His last outing was a December rematch against Warren, which he won by majority decision in a fight where giving Warren a draw was extremely generous, to say the least. The 28-year-old is an outstanding 10-1 inside the Bellator cage, and also holds notable stoppage wins over Wilson Reis and Zach Makovsky.

Higo (17-2) was part of season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil. After winning his elimination bout to get into the TUF House, he was submitted by Bruno Korea. He was given a second chance to compete after Giovanni Santos pulled out of the show, but an injury prevented him from continuing. The UFC did not sign Higo to a contract, but “Pitbull” went on an impressive run during his time with Resurrection Fighting Alliance. He captured the vacant RFA belt with a submission win over Joey Miolla, and then following the RFA-Legacy merger, successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision over Steven Peterson in January.

Bellator 177 will air (via tape-delay) on Friday, April 14th at 9 PM ET/PT on Spike. The Bellator Kickboxing 6 card, headlined by a rematch between welterweight champion Zoltan Laszak and Karim Ghajji, airs immediately after the Bellator broadcast is wrapped up.

With Darrion Caldwell out, Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Leandro Higo will be fighting Eduardo Dantas for the Bellator MMA bantamweight belt.

It’ll be an all-Brazilian clash for the Bellator MMA bantamweight title next month in Budapest, Hungary. After Darrion Caldwell withdrew with an undisclosed injury, the promotion signed the highly-touted Leandro Higo to replace him against reigning champion Eduardo Dantas. So it’ll be Bellator champ vs. Legacy Fighting Alliance champ at Bellator 177.

Dantas (19-4) had lost his Bellator title to Joe Warren in October 2014, but after beating Mike Richman, the Nova Uniao talent brilliantly picked apart Marcos Galvao last June to recapture his crown. His last outing was a December rematch against Warren, which he won by majority decision in a fight where giving Warren a draw was extremely generous, to say the least. The 28-year-old is an outstanding 10-1 inside the Bellator cage, and also holds notable stoppage wins over Wilson Reis and Zach Makovsky.

Higo (17-2) was part of season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil. After winning his elimination bout to get into the TUF House, he was submitted by Bruno Korea. He was given a second chance to compete after Giovanni Santos pulled out of the show, but an injury prevented him from continuing. The UFC did not sign Higo to a contract, but “Pitbull” went on an impressive run during his time with Resurrection Fighting Alliance. He captured the vacant RFA belt with a submission win over Joey Miolla, and then following the RFA-Legacy merger, successfully defended his title with a unanimous decision over Steven Peterson in January.

Bellator 177 will air (via tape-delay) on Friday, April 14th at 9 PM ET/PT on Spike. The Bellator Kickboxing 6 card, headlined by a rematch between welterweight champion Zoltan Laszak and Karim Ghajji, airs immediately after the Bellator broadcast is wrapped up.