Bellator
Bellator 137 co-main event between Eduardo Dantas and Mike Richman now back on [UPDATED]
May 14, 2015 - 10:35:58 PM Bellator 137 co-main event between Eduardo Dantas and Mike Richman now back on [UPDATED]

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Friday's Bellator 137 event has lost its co-main event, as the Eduardo Dantas-Mike Richman fight will no longer happen.

Richman missed weight for the fight on Thursday, coming in at 139.2 pounds for the bantamweight matchup. According to a report from Guilherme Cruz at MMAFighting.com, Dantas agreed to take the fight, but only if Richman agreed not to weigh any more than 147 lbs. on fight night.

As Richman would not concede to that condition, Dantas would not take the fight, taking it off the card. This is the second time the scheduled fight will not have happened, as a Richman injury pushed the fight back from the originally scheduled March date at Bellator 135.

Penick's Analysis: It really sucks that this fight is off, but I can't blame Dantas for laying down that condition. He's a bantamweight, it's supposed to be a bantamweight fight, and Richman unfortunately didn't come close to the division's limit. It would be a little unreasonable to ask that had Richman missed by a pound or less, but as he was over by several pounds, trying to make sure he didn't bulk up to more than 12 pounds over the bantamweight limit is absolutely reasonable. It's unfortunate, but that's where it stands.

UPDATE: After initially declining to take the fight without certain conditions, Dantas has relented, and the bout will indeed happen. Here's what Dantas said in a quick interview with Cruz:

"He didn't make weight and the fight was off. It's a fighter's duty to make weight, and our fight has a pound of leniency. He was way heavier than that.

"I trained for months for this fight and the fight adrenaline is already on me, so I can't go home without fighting. That's why I accepted it, also for the fans, and tomorrow I'm going full force over him.""