Bellator Champ Eduardo Dantas Knocked Out in Brazil by Tyson Nam at Shooto 33

There’s always been an inherent danger any time a fighter signed to a major MMA organization takes a fight in a regional promotion when opportunities present themselves.

Strikeforce middleweight Derek Brunson found that out earlier this summer when he stepped in with an undefeated record literally on just a few days notice and suffered a decision loss to former Ultimate Fighter winner Kendall Grove.

Now the misfortune of a similar situation has fallen directly on the head of Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas, who took a fight in his native Brazil over the weekend and suffered a knockout loss to Oregon based fighter Tyson Nam.

Stepping into the fight, Dantas had won seven fights in a row including his dominant submission victory over former Bellator champ Zach Makovsky in April to secure the belt.

During his down time, awaiting his next fight scheduling from Bellator, Dantas was allowed to go fight in his native Brazil at Shooto 33 in Rio de Janeiro.

Both fighters looked for a stand-up battle when the fight began, but Dantas believed he found an opening because he rushed forward at just over a minute into the first round. Dantas unloaded a big combination and flying knee as he looked to trap Nam in the corner.

Unfortunately for him, Nam defended the strikes well and fired back with a lone counter strike that absolutely blasted Dantas and laid him out on the ground.

The referee swooped in for the save as Nam knocked out Dantas early in the first round to win his fourth fight in a row.

Dantas will look to get back in the win column when he next defends his Bellator bantamweight title against new challenger Marcos Galvao, who earned a shot at the belt with his tournament win just last Friday.

Also on the card, former UFC lightweight Ronys Torres also got back in action and picked up a decision win over Alejandro Solano Rodriguez.

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