Report: UFC vet Michael McDonald takes on former Bellator champ Eduardo Dantas

Former two-time Bellator bantamweight champion, Eduardo Dantas says he’s taking on UFC veteran Michael McDonald, according to an interview ‘Dudu’ gave to Portal do Vale Tudo. Although Dantas did not state the event’s number, he did claim it could go down on July 13 and Bellator has an event scheduled for July 14 in Rome, Italy: Bellator 201.

“Probably July 13. They gave me that against Michael McDonald who is a very experienced guy and is a good match-up for me. He likes to strike, he knows how to fight on the ground and is well-rounded. It was supposed to happen in May, but they felt like July would be better. It’s a great fight to put me back into title contention,” said Dantas.

Eduardo Dantas (20-5) lost the bantamweight title to Darrion Caldwell in October 2017 when he was defeated by unanimous decision. The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak with decision wins over the likes of Mike Richman, Marcos Galvao, Joe Warren, and Leandro Higo.

Michael McDonald (18-4) has been alternating wins and losses since 2013. Although he spent two years retired from the sport, ‘Mayday’ came back in January 2016 and scored a submission win over Masanori Kanehara, which was followed by a KO loss to John Lineker. In his last outing, McDonald made his Bellator debut with a unanimous decision victory over Peter Ligierin December 2017.

Eduardo Dantas is expected to take on Michael McDonald at Bellator 201 in Rome, Italy. The card will be headlined by a middleweight bout between Italy’s own Alessio Sakara and an opponent who has yet to be determined.