Bellator 128 Preview – Dantas vs. Warren; “Wild Thing” returns

By TXMMA Staff

Eduardo Dantas and Joe Warren to unify bantamweight titles in main event

THACKERVILLE, OK – Bellator FC returns from the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma this Friday night and it should be a good one. Set to air in prime time on Spike TV, Bellator 128 will feature a bantamweight title bout between champion Eduardo Dantas and interim champion Joe Warren. DuDu (Dantas) has defended the belt twice since winning it from Zach Makovsy back in April 2012. Meanwhile, the former featherweight champ Warren won the interim title this past May with a decision over Rafael Silva at Bellator 118. With Dantas now back from his ankle injury there can only be one and this unification bout will decide who is the man at 135 for Bellator.

Also up on the main card is Wichita Falls, TX native Bubba McDaniel. A former Ultimate Fighter quarterfinalist, Bubba will be making his first return to the Bellator cage since scoring a win over San Antonio’s Matt Jones back at Bellator 121. He’ll be taking on 12-4 Argentilian Emiliano “He-Man’ Sordi, a debuting fighter for the promotion but also one looking for his third straight win in a row.

Those fights are joined by a pair of additional bouts set for nationwide broadcast including UFC vet Nah-Shon Burrell taking on Michael Page and Alexander Sarnavskiy taking on former RFA fighter Dakota Cochane.

Texas based fighters featured on the undercard; “Wild Thing” returns

Speaking of fighters from the lone star state, one to watch on this card is “Wild Thing” Jason Sampson. Currently 10-1 as a pro, the 32 year old Coppell resident has long been thought of as one of the top MMA prospects fighting out of Texas but injuries have slowed him down in the recent past. Sampson has won two in a row, however, and will look to add to that streak when he takes on 7-4 Danny Sykora this Friday night. With time spent training at Octagon MMA with Sayif Saud and the entire team there along with his usual partners at Mohler MMA, Jason is primed to pick up right where he left off and climb the ladder of contention for Bellator FC.

Sampson is joined on the Bellator card by a host of Texas-based fighters including Next Generation’s Cody Walker and Brenden Seyler along with Chop Shop MMA’s Stephen Banaszak fighting out of Greenville, William Florentino and others.

Check out the complete Bellator 128 fight card planned for Spike TV and Spike.com below:

Bellator 128 – Main Card (Spike TV)

• 135 lbs.: Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren * TITLE
• 170 lbs.: Michael Page vs. Nah-Shon Burrell
• 185 lbs.: Bubba McDaniel vs. Emiliano Sordi
• 160 lbs.: Alexander Sarnavskiy vs. Dakota Cochrane

Bellator 128 – Prelims (Spike.com)

• 155 lbs.: J.C. Cottrell vs. Jonathan Gary
• 170 lbs.: William Florentino vs. Cortez Coleman
• 145 lbs.: Treston Thomison vs. Cody Walker
• 125 lbs.: Johnathan Martinez vs. Brenden Seyler
• 155 lbs.: Danny Sykora vs. Jason Sampson
• 145 lbs.: Emmanuel Sanchez vs. Stephen Banaszak
• 185 lbs.: Andreas Michailidis vs. Jason Butcher
• 145 lbs.: John Teixeira vs. Scott Cleve