Juan Archuleta got a massive knockout in a big featherweight showdown at Bellator 222 against former champion Eduardo Dantas.
Going into this possible title eliminator fight, former Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas was coming off of a good win over Toby Misech in February. However, before that win, he was coming off of back-to-back losses to Michael MacDonald and Darrion Caldwell. That loss to Caldwell resulted in Dantas losing the bantamweight title that he had defended twice previously.
Juan Archuleta, on the other hand, was going into the bout on a 17-fight winning streak, including four wins in a row in Bellator. His most notable win coming his last time out, defeating Ricky Bandejas via decision in January of this year.
The first round was a back and forth affair between the two, as they exchanged at a distance for the first two and a half minutes of the fight. However, after Archuleta landed a nice shot, the two clinched for the rest of the first round, as they jostled for position. Archuleta seemed to land the better of the shots through the first five minutes.
The second round featured more of a stand-up battle as Archuleta landed some hard shots, as he brought the fight to Dantas. At one point he stunned Dantas and looked for the finish, but couldn’t get it as Dantas was finding a way to survive. Then as the round was coming to a close, Dantas was pushing forward and looked for a kick, and moved in, as he stepped in Archuleta countered with a massive overhand right and knocked Dantas out cold.
WHAT A KO BY @JARCHMMA 😱#Bellator222 pic.twitter.com/nHna6PElbj
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 15, 2019
Juan Archuleta continues to be one of the brightest stars in Bellator’s featherweight division.
Juan Archuleta def. Eduardo Dantas by KO (Right Hook) in Round 2 (4:59)
Check out the full results from Bellator 222 here!
