Bellator 166's former champ Marcos Galvao using losses to Dantas to come back stronger

For nearly four years, Marcos Galvao has gotten past everyone Bellator has put in front of him … except Eduardo Dantas.

At Bellator 89 in February 2013, Galvao brought a tournament win into a title fight with Dantas and was knocked out in the second round. He rattled off three more wins, though, and submitted Joe Warren in March 2015 to win the bantamweight belt.

But in June, when he finally got to defend the title, it was Dantas in front of him – and he won a five-round unanimous decision.

“I had been on a great win streak before we first fought,” Galvao told MMAjunkie. “‘Dudu’ stopped me. My head wasn’t in the right place, but that’s no excuse. He fought better. Then, I went back to chasing the belt. I beat Joe Warren, but then ‘Dudu’ defeated me again. I have no excuse for that. I had a perfect training camp. I just didn’t perform as well as I trained.”

But the time off hurt him, he said.

“One thing that bothered me was that I didn’t fight for a long time. I fought once in 2014, and once in 2015. I missed out on some valuable cage time. Regardless, he deserves all the credit for beating me again. But I’ll be back stronger.”

After that loss to Dantas in the summer, Galvao is ready to return tonight when he takes on veteran fighter L.C. Davis at Bellator 166, which takes place at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla. The main card, including Galvao-Davis, airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie. (Bellator 167 takes place the next night at the same venue for a unique and rare set of back-to-back shows.)

Galvao is a slight favorite against Davis in the fight. Davis, like the Brazilian, is trying to rebound from a lost. He dropped a decision to Warren at Bellator 143.

“L.C. Davis is a very well-traveled fighter with experience in various promotions,” Galvao said. “But I’ll be well-trained for him. I’ve watched his fights. He’s a southpaw. Thankfully I have a sparring partner who’s also a lefty. He’s helping me a lot. I’m ready to show up and do my job.”

What Galvao wants is to eventually do that job for Bellator in the state he’s long called home: New York. MMA recently was approved there, so Galvao would love to head across the bridge from Queens into Manhattan to fight at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s a dream of mine to fight near my home in New York, to be able have my camp and to cut weight at my own academy,” he said. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of fighting at Madison Square Garden. To fight in New York will mean everything to me.

“I work for Bellator. I don’t think about any specific opponents. I’ll face anyone in my weight class. Bellator just needs to send me the contract. Now I’m focused on L.C. Davis only. We’ll see who’s next.”

For more on Bellator 166, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.