Eduardo Dantas’ belt will not be on the line at Bellator 177.
The Bellator bantamweight champion successfully made weight for Friday’s event in Budapest, Hungary, but his opponent, Leandro Higo, missed weight by four pounds, MMA Fighting has confirmed following a tweet by Jason Floyd.
Dantas made weight at 134.6 pounds, and the fight will go on as a three-round catchweight bout. Higo was fined 20 percent of his purse.
Higo (17-2), a former RFA and LFA bantamweight champion who is set to make his promotional debut, replaced injured Darrion Caldwell on one month’s notice against the champion.
"Dudu" (19-4) was looking to defend the 135-pound title for the second time in his second run as champion. This bout marks the second time Dantas has to face an overweight opponent in Bellator. Back in May 2015, Mike Richman came in at 139.2 pounds at Bellator 137.