Marcos Galvao and Changing Venues

Marcos Galvao was on top of his world when he nearly blew up Joe Warren’s leg with a kneebar at Bellator 135 in March 2015. The win brought with it the Bellator MMA bantamweight championship, though the Brazilian’s reign was short-lived. A decisive loss to former Nova Uniao teammate Eduardo Dantas in his next appearance left Galvao at a crossroads.

Galvao rebounded with a split decision over L.C. Davis at Bellator 156 and has opted for a change of pace following his latest victory. The 32-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will move north to the featherweight division, where he will face Roufusport standout Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 175 on Friday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. The fight excites Galvao, who believes Sanchez poses a unique threat. He knows he can ill afford to make major mistakes against the Duke Roufus protégé (online betting).

“He’s a very tough opponent,” Galvao told Sherdog.com. “He’s always moving forward [and] very aggressive. He’s a top-five guy in the division. I can’t blink, [and] I can’t make any mistakes. I’ve got to be alert and ready for everything at all times. In a perfect world, if I could make the fight happen exactly how I want it, I would submit him within three rounds.”

Sanchez has drawn criticism in recent months as a fighter who has yet to realize his full potential. His aggressive nature has not resulted in the highlight-reel finishes one might expect, as his past seven bouts have gone the distance, including four split verdicts. Sanchez, 26, last appeared at Bellator 170 on Jan. 21, when he was awarded a majority decision over former World Series of Fighting and Tachi Palace Fights champion Georgi Karakhanyan. Galvao was quick to come to his opponent’s defense.

“The main thing regarding his [lack of finishes] is his level of competition,” Galvao said. “He’s been fighting nothing but top guys for a while now. Bellator has a very deep division, and at 145 [pounds], look at the guys he’s fought. Does he want to go out there and finish guys right away? Of course he does. All of us do, but when you get to this level in the sport and when you fight top guys, it’s much, much more difficult to finish guys.

Galvao thinks Sanchez has been unjustly targeted by critics.

“That does bother me a lot,” he said. “You see a lot of people, especially on the Internet hiding behind their computer screens and sometimes out in the crowd. It’s easy to sit in a chair and yell at fighters for not getting finishes. Well, why don’t they get in the cage and see how easy it is to finish a top-10, top-five guy in the world? It’s not easy.”

As he nears his 35th birthday, Galvao’s margin for error grows smaller by the day -- a fact which made his victory over Davis all the more satisfying. It provided much-needed momentum and a welcomed boost in confidence for the Jungle Fight, Shooto and World Extreme Cagefighting veteran.

“Without a doubt, that win was very important, not only just because I was coming off a title loss but a loss in general is very important to come back from,” Galvao said. “It was even better to get it against such a tough fighter like Davis. I knew I couldn’t afford to lose again and I knew Davis was going to be tough. It was tough, but I proved that I am still one of the best.”

Galvao now has designs on becoming a two-division champion. With Dantas and the 135-pound weight class in his rearview mirror, “Loro” has the featherweight throne in his sights. Galvao, who operates out of the Long Island MMA outfit in New York, views a clear-cut win over Sanchez as a necessary first step.

“I think Bellator’s plan is that if I can get a dominant win over Sanchez, who is top-three in the division, plus the fact that I am the former bantamweight champ, it puts me right in the title shot,” he said. “With Bellator recently announcing their big New York card [for June 24], it only makes sense for them to put me in the title shot in New York because that is my home now.”