Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren bantamweight title fight headlines Bellator 118

A bantamweight title fight will headline Bellator 118 next month in New Jersey, and a delayed tournament semifinal fight is on tap, as well.

135-pound champ Eduardo Dantas (16-3 MMA, 6-0 BMMA) will put his title on the line against tournament winner Joe Warren (10-3 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) in the main event. And in the co-feature, Andrey Koreshkov (15-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) meets Sam Oropeza (11-2 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) in the welterweight tournament semifinals. That fight was scheduled for this past week’s Bellator 115 before Koreshkov was forced out prior to weigh-ins with the flu.

Bellator officials announced the fights on Monday, as well as the rest of the card. The main card includes a bantamweight bout between Marcos Galvao (15-6-1 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) and Thomas Vasquez (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and a welterweight bout between Liam McGeary (6-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) vs. Mike Mucitelli (6-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA).

Bellator 118 takes place May 2 at Revel Atlantic City in New Jersey. The night’s main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Dantas defended his strap a month ago with a second-round submission win over Anthony Leone at Bellator 111. Prior to that, he defended it with a second-round knockout win over Galvao in February 2013. The Brazilian is unbeaten in Bellator.

Warren, the former Bellator featherweight champion, has won three straight since losing the 145-pound belt to Pat Curran more than two years ago. He got back on track with a decision win over Owen Evinger at Bellator 80, submitted Nick Kirk at Bellator 101 this past September in a tourney semifinal bout, and in November, he stopped Travis Marx with a second-round TKO to win the Season 9 bantamweight tourney to get his title shot.

Koreshkov has won two straight since losing to Ben Askren in a welterweight title fight at Bellator 97. That setback remains the lone loss of his career. In the opening round of the Season 10 welterweight tourney, he knocked out Nah-Shon Burrell in just 41 seconds. Oropeza had similar quick success at Bellator 112 when he stopped Cristiano Souza in the first round to advance to the semifinals against Koreshkov.

Of note on the preliminary card, All-American wrestler Darrion Caldwell (4-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) will look to make it two straight with Bellator when he takes on Joe Pingitore (4-1-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in a featherweight fight.

The complete Bellator 118 card includes:

MAIN CARD (Spike TV, 9 p.m. ET)

• Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren – for bantamweight title
• Andrey Koreshkov vs. Sam Oropeza – welterweight tournament semifinals
• Marcos Galvao vs. Thomas Vasquez
• Liam McGeary vs. Mike Mucitelli

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike.com, 7 p.m. ET)

For more on Bellator 118, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Eduardo Dantas)