3. Eduardo Dantas
A point of pride for the revered Nova Uniao camp in his native Brazil, Dantas has enjoyed a stellar run in Bellator. It has included two title reigns at 135 pounds, the first of which covered 911 days, from April 13, 2012 to Oct. 10, 2014. Dantas made his first appearance under the Bellator MMA banner in late 2011 -- he knocked out former EliteXC champion Wilson Reis with a flying knee -- and never looked back. Less than a year later, he was bantamweight champion, having put Zach Makovsky to sleep with an arm-triangle choke at Bellator 65. Two successful title defenses followed, the first against Marcos Galvao, the second against Anthony Leone, before he coughed up the 135-pound crown in a unanimous decision loss to Joe Warren at Bellator 128. Dantas has rattled off four consecutive victories since, avenging his defeat to Warren and reclaiming the bantamweight championship in the process. He turned 28 in February.
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