Newly crowned Bellator bantamweight champion Joe Warren (12-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) waited to fight now-deposed champ Eduardo Dantas (16-4 MMA, 6-2 BMMA), and he feels it’s only right to return the favor.

Dantas has made it clear he wants an immediate rematch with Warren after losing his belt via decision loss at Bellator 128, but Warren thinks the Brazilian first needs to pass a few hurdles.

“I think he’s got a road to come through,” Warren told MMAjunkie Radio. “He’s been ducking me and they’ve been throwing some studs in there. I want to see him get through Rafael Silva first. I’m here to fight, and I don’t run, but I think he might not be in the best guy in that weight besides me.”

A title fight between Warren and Dantas scheduled for earlier this year was delayed when Dantas suffered a head injury in training. Warren seized upon the news as an opportunity to accuse the now-former champ of ducking him and went on to win the interim Bellator title by outpointing Silva.

After grinding Dantas out over five rounds, Warren is now the undisputed champ and plans on keeping the belt. He just isn’t anxious to run back his tough meeting with the guy who gave him it.

“I’m open-minded to whatever,” he said. “You’ve got all kinds of people who think they can get a piece of me, so I’m open minded to see how the organization goes this year and see what the new excitement is going to be with Spike and Bellator and Viacom. Now that I’m in the driver’s seat again, maybe ride this ride a second and see who they want me to fight. I don’t know who they’re going to put in there that’s tougher than the last two guys I’ve fought.”

Warren can see another rematch in his future, a second meeting with Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who recently won the Bellator featherweight title in a rematch with now-former champ Pat Curran.

Warren defeated Freire in the semifinals of the Season 2 featherweight tournament and went on to win the featherweight title before Curran took it two years later with a violent knockout.

“Yeah, ‘Pitbull’ wants to dance again, and if he wants to lose his belt at 145 (pounds), I can hold both belts if you want me to,” Warren said. “That fight will be easier than these last two fights I had. The last two guys wrestled, really really well. ‘Pitbull’ is a shorter guy and not as good of a wrestler and at that point it’s easier for me to stay away from your striking. I also fought him when I was almost dead from food poisoning. ”

There were no such obstacles for Warren against Dantas, although he admits the fight was so intense and competitive he had no idea whether he’d done enough to win. He said he used other means, however, to convince the judges if they had any doubts.

“I assumed that I did what I was supposed to do, but it’s so close out there, you’re not sure,” he said. “I’m a professional and I know what I need to do, so I sold the win. I made sure that the crowd was behind me, and I believed I was the victor. That’s half the battle, being able to not just be the best champion, but the best actor.

“If you can play the crowd and play the judges and you believe you won as much as the judges did, that goes a long way when they’re making those last decisions. I can tell a lot of fighters don’t understand that. They go and hug their coach, whereas me, I’m playing the crowd and having a good time with my win. I have no idea if I won yet.”

The belt is around Warren’s waist, however, bringing him his second major title in an MMA promotion. Although he is bound to lag in rankings given the depth of competition in the industry-leading UFC, he’s open minded enough to consider a jump to fix that if the money is right.

“This is a job for me,” he said. “I’ve been with Bellator because they’ve been paying me. It’s easy to work for an organization that loves you. I’ve got a few more fights, and I’m always open-minded to making money.

“I don’t care about those UFC punks, man. I’m still the baddest man in the planet.”

For more on Bellator MMA’s upcoming schedule, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM channel 92, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.