Bellator
Rafael Silva injured, Champ Eduardo Dantas now meets Anthony Leone at Bellator 111
Feb 5, 2014 - 1:45:26 PM Rafael Silva injured, Champ Eduardo Dantas now meets Anthony Leone at Bellator 111

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

An injury to Bellator bantamweight tournament winner Rafael Silva has taken him out of a fight with Champ Eduardo Dantas on March 7. The next contender, Joe Warren, is nursing a knee injury while targeting his May return, so Bellator has tapped the man Silva defeated to earn his title fight, Anthony Leone, for the title fight at Bellator 111.

"This was a difficult process with Silva suffering injury, but when we considered all our options, we felt like this decision made the most sense," Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. "After we heard the news on Silva, we immediately made the call to our other Bantamweight Tournament winner Joe Warren. Joe informed us he was still rehabbing a previous knee injury and would be unable to compete on the March 7 card, but he will be 100% ready to go for his originally scheduled fight in May."

"It's always our goal to keep our fighters as busy as possible, and we didn't want Eduardo sitting on the sidelines. With our Tournament Champion Replacement Clause in place, we contacted Anthony and are moving full steam ahead with our Bantamweight Title fight on March 7 to headline a huge night of fights."

Warren is still targeting that May fight with the winner of this bout, and said today that he just wouldn't have been ready by the March 7 date.

"It was really hard to have to Bjorn call me and have to turn down a fight, but my knee just isn't at a place I'm comfortable with, and my timeline has always been to get back in the cage in May," Warren said. "You know 'The Baddest Man On The Planet' will step in against anyone, and it would have been nice to take that belt away from Dantas a few months early, but I'm going to heal up, train like a madman, and whoever has that belt come May, they better shine it up for me, I'm taking it home."

Penick's Analysis: I still don't get why Dantas has to be on this card if a win is just bringing him to Warren in May. Warren getting a full camp to prepare for someone who has to turn around quickly wasn't a necessity, especially with Silva going down to injury. Keeping Dantas out just two months more wouldn't have been a major deal, and would have allowed him full preparations for Warren. Now, a win over Leone means he still has to turn around quickly for the Warren fight.