With Joe Soto out of the Bellator Season Five bantamweight tournament after a loss at a Tachi Palace Fights 10 event, alternate fighter Wilson Reis (12-3) was more than happy to step in as a replacement.
Reis is set to face fellow Brazilian Eduardo Dantas (10-2) this Saturday at Bellator 51 as part of the opening quarterfinal bouts of the 135 lb tournament. The event is set to take place Canton Memorial Civic Center in Canton, Ohio with the main card airing live on MTV2.
As part of MMAMania.com’s “Know your Bellator” series, Reis was featured as part of their latest interview to talk about stepping in as Soto’s replacement and meeting Dantas in the tournament.
You were not originally in the Bellator season five bantamweight tournament and you got the late invite to step in for Joe Soto. How excited were you to get that call and be back in a tournament with Bellator?
Wilson Reis: I was very excited. I was definitely waiting for that call and I was the alternate. I had high hopes that I was gonna get in. I was kinda thinking I’d get in because I knew what kind of condition Joe Soto was in and I was definitely happy to get his spot. I was gonna be in the tournament last year, I wanted to make the cut to 135 but they didn’t have the same feeling towards me dropping down as they do now. I should have fought at 135 before but I gave it a try at 145. I did good, had nine fights at 145 and went 6-3 but now I’m very excited to fight 135 now.You briefly mentioned your upcoming opponent, Eduardo Dantas. He’s one of the highest rated prospects at 135 in the entire world. How excited are you to be stepping in there against such a tough guy in the first round of this tournament?
Wilson Reis: Very excited man. Very excited. To be my first fight at 135, it’s a very nice fight. I think with this tournament though, there’s no easy opponents and Bellator always puts tough guys in front of you in the tournaments. There’s no easy fights. Every fight is gonna be a war and especially as we keep moving on. Eduardo Dantas is a Brazilian guy. He’s a cool guy. It’s gonna be an exciting fight for our country and I excited to step up against him.He trains out of a really tough gym in Brazil, Nova Uniao, one of the best in the world. So you’re training in Philly as well as with Dominick Cruz in California and he’s training with Marlon Sandro and Jose Aldo. You are both training with the absolute elite.
Wilson Reis: Oh yeah man. We’re in the game and training camp and preparation is where you win and lose the fight really. I have the pleasure of having great corners and great coaches around me and so does he. The Nova Uniao camp is one of the best camps for lightweights and lower in Brazil in all of MMA. We’re both gonna be ready for this.