On July 13, Eduardo Dantas stepped into the cage at Bellator 202 looking to bounce back from his first loss in three years. The loss, which had taken place nine months prior, had cost Dantas the bantamweight title that he’d conquered for a second time.

But Dantas didn’t get his recovery. Instead, events that took place in less than 60 seconds would lead to two unfortunate first-time events.

After Michael McDonald TKO’d him, Dantas (20-6 MMA, 10-4 BMMA) saw himself on the first losing skid of his more than decade-long career. And then, not too long afterward, he saw himself lying on an operating table for the first time in his life.

“I broke my fibula and put in a plate and seven screws so that it’s very strong and there’s no risk of it breaking again,” Dantas told MMAjunkie. “I also ruptured three ligaments, so (the doctor) had to stitch them back up. It was a very strong injury. It was really hard on my body.”

Dantas, like many of those watching, knew it was bad when it happened. As he sat on the stool, he could see himself on the screen, his left ankle rolled over in an awkward position. He tried not to despair, as he knew that would only make things worse, but he was understandably “very worried” as he made his way to the hospital.

Getting there, after a more than hour-long drive, Dantas was seen by multiple doctors – seven or eight, he estimates. They did an X-ray. He showed images of the fight. They could agree something was broken, of course. But, after repeatedly asking, Dantas said he was given the same answer: There was no need for surgery, and he had no reason to be worried about taking the long flight back to Brazil.

After getting home in Rio de Janeiro, Dantas only had time for lunch before the pain and the throbbing led him to the hospital again.

There, he was told he needed emergency surgery and was admitted immediately. He also found out that he was at risk for thrombosis and that he could end up needing a second surgery, as the swelling that had taken place could cause the metal piece to be pushed out.

For someone who had never suffered a serious injury throughout an 11-year MMA career, Dantas’ first surgical experience was certainly a bumpy one. And, for someone so used to activity, coping with the reality of being bed-ridden, even if for a week, can be challenging.

But Dantas prefers to focus on all the ways that, in a situation that was entirely out his control, things aren’t that bad.

“I’m much calmer now, because I see how fast I’m recovering,” Dantas said. “I’m feeling everything again. My leg is already doing all the movements. I’m walking on my own. I’m doing many things I couldn’t.

“My head is in the right place, and I think I also owe a lot to the people who are with me, like my wife, my family, coaches. I think I have the right people by my side, and that’s making me go through it more easily.”

The fact that he was coming off a camp and was in such good shape, Dantas said, meant his body was able to rebound remarkably fast. He is, for instance, no longer using crutches. He can’t put a lot of impact on his foot, of course, but he can lift weights and walk on his own. His doctor believes in three weeks, Dantas will be able to resume training.

My surgery not being in the United States, The @BellatorMMA has given me all support here is my special thanks. pic.twitter.com/R7MVlprXIK — Dudu Dantas (@DuduDantasMMA) July 23, 2018

When that happens, of course, there’s also another aspect that follows injury recovery: getting his confidence back. On his part, Dantas has been putting in the work at physical therapy, making sure he replicates, at the pool, what he’ll be doing on the mats shortly; he runs under water, he jumps under water, he kicks under water.

Still, there’s only so much he can control, and Dantas knows some bridges will have to be crossed when he gets there.

Through it all, his mindset is pretty simple.

“Some things happen, and there’s nothing you can do,” Dantas said. “You have to accept it and see how it’s going to serve you as a learning lesson.”

That, it turns out, also applies to the negative moment he’s experiencing inside the cage.

Dantas isn’t oblivious to the fact he’s on a losing skid. Both the quick TKO and a decision in which his timing was off and he was simply unable to stop his opponent’s game bother him. But he doesn’t need to necessarily be at peace with things that happened in the past to know that they can also be useful in the future.

“Of course I’ll think about these two losses, but I’ll also be keeping a positive attitude, like I always have,” Dantas said. “This time and these losses have made me reflect on what I have to do differently. This last fight, I was very prepared, and I didn’t fight. There was no fight. It was his day. He landed a punch, and I fell down. The injury happened.

“It was a very tough one for me, but I know in my next fight I’ll combine these two ‘Dudus’: the 2012 one and the 2018 one. The experienced 2018 Dudu with the one from 2012, the fearless Dudu, who’d move forward and go through everyone. That’s my goal now, finding the balance between these two ‘Dudu’s.”

‘I don’t know why, but I had to go through it.’

Dantas has watched the fight with McDonald multiple times, looking for explanations. He was extremely well-prepared. He was never out from the punch that dropped him. And even being dropped, Dantas ponders, usually involves falling forward, backward or sideways. Instead, he landed straight, creating a perfect storm for the injury.

“I sat down, took that punch,” Dantas said. “I saw him coming toward me. I only had time to turn. I tried to stand up. I believe it was good that I wasn’t able to, because it would have been even uglier. I’d step, and I think it could have been an exposed fracture. The doctor said that anything else I’d done other than kneeling, if I’d put my foot down and tried to get back, it’d be hideous, the bone would come out, it’d be an exposed fracture.

“I kneeled, he hit me three times. On the fourth punch, he landed. I did go out. There was a flash. When my head hit the ground, I woke up, and when I looked, he was on top of me. My leg was all numb.”

So Dantas has got the how part down. The why, though?

“I really tried to look for an answer about what happened, but there isn’t,” Dantas said. “That was meant to happen. I don’t know why, but I had to go through it.”

Regardless, Dantas knows this: It was McDonald’s night, not his. And the former champion in no way takes away from his opponent or his merits in coming out on top in their co-headliner.

“The same way I was training at my gym, he probably was doing the same at his,” Dantas said.

He would still like to run it back with McDonald. And while he has entertained the possibility of that happening as soon as he returns, which he hopes will happen around January or February, the Brazilian would rather wait until he can commit to a harder timeline.

Of course, that isn’t the only bout that Dantas would like to run back. Darrion Caldwell, after all, still holds the 135-pound title that he conquered with a unanimous-decision win over him at Bellator 184.

Dantas knows it’s going to take re-building and overcoming. But, then again, that’s nothing the 29-year-old hasn’t done in the past. And while he’s in no rush to make his journey to a third title conquest a quick one, Dantas knows damn well where it’s leading.

“What drives me, the main reason for all of this, is to be champion,” Dantas said. “There is no other reason. I always say that to people who ask me for guidance, people who are just beginning. I see many people who get into this game looking for fame, looking for money, looking to just be there – whether it’s in the UFC or Bellator, people just want to be there. And I am very direct: If that’s all you want, you won’t even get half of it, because it’s very small thinking.

“Ever since I’ve been in this game, when I first fought in 2007, at 17, I’ve always been there to be champion. It’s in my blood. It’s in my head all the time.”

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