Anthony Leone on Bellator 111 title offer: 'I almost pooped my pants'

Anthony Leone remembers when he was a kid and he’d sit on the couch and watch boxing with his grandfather. He was horrified by what he watched.

“I was thinking, why would anybody want to do this?” he said. “And that was just with boxing – with big gloves and punches only. So I think that kid would think, damn I grew up to be a bad motherf—er.”

Leone (13-6 MMA, 3-3 BMMA) remembers that early introduction to combat sports and laughs. But now a successful MMA bantamweight – one who fights reigning champion Eduardo Dantas (15-3 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) in Friday’s Bellator 111 headliner – he’s still as loose and wide-eyed as ever.

The Spike TV-televised bout is a huge opportunity for Leone, who recently replaced injured Rafael “Morcego” Silva (21-3 MMA, 2-0 BMMA). Admittedly, he was surprised to get the offer.

“When I first got the call that I was fighting Eduardo Dantas for the world title, I think I almost pooped my pants,” he said. “I had just woken up in Thailand at 7 in the morning, and I was getting ready to go teach class when my manager called me and told me I was fighting for the world championship. I was shocked, but I jumped at the opportunity right away.”

Since launching his pro career in 2008, the former WEC and Strikeforce fighter has had a single focus: winning a world title. He now has the chance as he meets Dantas, who’s ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings. After a 1-5 skid from 2010-2011, such a possibility looked pretty unlikely for Leone. But he rebounded with a 5-1 run before losing a decision to Silva in Bellator’s Season 9 tournament final.

He’s confident heading into Friday’s bout at WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. – “I feel completely prepared mentally and physically to go out there and become a world champion,” the 26-year-old said – though in his earlier life, the thought of fighting another man in a cage would have been petrifying.

“If you told me at 5 years old that I would be fighting for a world title on television today, I probably would’ve s–t my pants,” he said. “I would’ve been terrified.”

With what he calls a “once-in-a-lifetime shot,” though, Leone believes he’s now facing a fighter similar to UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao, one of Dantas’ teammates. Ultimately, he thinks it’ll present openings for a win.

“Eduardo comes from a great camp at Nova Uniao, where he trains with Jose Aldo and Renan Barao, and I think his style is fairly similar to theirs,” he said. “However I feel he’s closer to Renan as a striker as opposed to Aldo, who I think is just so technical and perfect with his striking. Where I think Dantas gets a little bit wilder and begins to lose his technique.

“The key to victory for me is to go out there and successfully mix up my striking with my takedowns. I think his overly aggressive style is going to create some openings for me that I will capitalize on.”

Now that the shock has worn off and Leone has a clean change of pants, he’s anxious to prove Bellator officials made the right call by naming him the main-event replacement. Dantas is one of the organization’s true young talents, and upsetting the world-ranked Brazilian could mean big things for Leone.

“This world title shot is a huge step in my career,” he said. “It means a lot to my legacy as a fighter. This could change everything for me.”

For the latest on Bellator 111, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.