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7. Eduardo Dantas vs. Anthony Leone
Bellator 111
March 7, 2014 | Thackerville, Oklahoma
Leone was not the man to dethrone Dantas, then the Bellator MMA bantamweight champion.

In what was an early frontrunner for “Submission of the Year” in 2014, the gifted Dantas tapped Leone with a sublime second-round rear-naked choke and retained his 135-pound crown in the Bellator 111 main event at the Winstar World Casino. A replacement for the injured Rafael Silva, Leone conceded defeat 2:04 into Round 2.

Dantas spent much of the first round pinned to the canvas after being taken down inside the first minute. Leone kept himself centered on the Brazilian’s hips and popped him with intermittent ground-and-pound. In the second round, Dantas piled up the points with a stiff jab and straight punching combinations. After a brief scramble, the Nova Uniao export countered an overzealous double-leg takedown attempt from Leone. In one fluid motion, with the American clinging to his ankles, Dantas slid to his kneeling challenger’s back from a standing position and locked in the rear-naked choke for the finish.

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