Press Release – Newport Beach, CA. (December 21st, 2012) – The stage is now set for the Bellator MMA Bantamweight World Title fight as reigning Bellator Champion Eduardo “Dudu” Dantas is set to defend his belt against fellow Brazilian Marcos “Loro” Galvao on February 14th from Charlotte’s Bojangles’ Coliseum LIVE on Spike TV. The night will also feature the opening round of Bellator’s highly anticipated Middleweight Tournament, as well as loaded preliminary card that will be streamed exclusively on Spike.com.
Tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by visiting The Bojangles’ Coliseum Box Office, with tickets starting at just $37 dollars. The event will broadcast LIVE starting at 10 p.m. EST on Spike, as well as in Spanish language on mun2. The preliminary card will be streamed LIVE and FREE on Spike.com starting at 8 p.m. EST.
At just 23 years old, Dantas already has amassed an impressive 14-3 record, including victories over Luis Nogueira, Ed West, Alexis Vila and former Bellator Bantamweight Champion Zach Makovsky. Training under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grandmaster and Nova Uniao founder Andre Pederneiras, Dantas is ready for the challenge that awaits him on February 14th.
“I feel great, and I’m ready to defend my belt,” said Dantas. “It seems like I’ve been away from the Bellator cage for a while, and I’m ready to face Marcos. I consider Marcos a friend, but all that goes away when we step into the cage. I’m going to show the world why I am the Bellator Bantamweight Champion.”
Galvao has similar feelings as the Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament Champion has trained with Dantas and Pederneiras in the past with Nova Uniao. Now calling New York home, Galvao knows his February 14th showdown with Dantas is the biggest fight of his career, and won’t let friendship stand in the way of becoming a champion.
“”Everyone is fine with it, and everyone knows what is at stake,” said Galvao.” “We’ve known each other for a long time, but this is our job, and nothing will get in the way of that. We will shake hands before the fight, and we will shake hands after the fight, but it’s going to be war when the cage door shuts.”
“Eduardo and Marcos are two of the best bantamweights in this sport, and with the ties they both have to one of the best MMA camps in the world, Nova Uniao, this has the makings of an incredible fight,” said Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney. “We’ve got a stacked Middleweight Tournament featured on the card along with a number of great preliminary fights on Spike.com, so the Charlotte crowd is in for something special on February 14th.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA, follow Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney @BjornRebney and check out Bellator on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator MMA
Bellator MMA is the world’s largest tournament based Mixed Martial Arts organization. Televised to nearly 500 Million homes worldwide in over 107 countries, Bellator’s majority owner is entertainment giant Viacom. In the United States, Bellator can be seen on Spike TV, the MMA television leader. With over 150 world-class athletes under contract, Bellator is home to many of the sport’s top mixed martial artists. Bellator’s founder & CEO, Bjorn Rebney, an experienced fighting sports and entertainment executive with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator’s core philosophy is that title shots should be earned, not given. This belief gave rise to Bellator’s real sport, tournament-based format, which gives Bellator’s tournaments a true playoff feel that keeps the sport true and distances itself from the subjective side of fighting sports found in organizations that utilize a matchmaking/casting formula. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations. Bellator is based in Newport Beach, California.
About Spike TV:
Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV’s Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV’s press site at http://www.spike.com/press. Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.
Bojangles’ Coliseum
Bojangles’ Coliseum first opened in 1955 as Charlotte’s first coliseum. Since then, the 11,000-seat venue has hosted a wide array of concerts, family shows and other diverse entertainment events over the years. The celebrated facility has been known by many names: Charlotte Coliseum, Independence Arena, Cricket Arena and most recently Bojangles’ Coliseum.
About mun2
mun2 is the leading Hispanic cable network for young millennial adults 18-34. From reality to music, on-air to digital, mun2 creates original content that resonates across a multi-screen platform. Young, vibrant and unabashedly Latino, mun2 has a distribution to over 38 million households. The network is part of Telemundo Media, a division of NBCUniversal.