Rivalries: Darrion Caldwell

Darrion Caldwell finds himself in limbo as he drifts deeper into his mid-30s.

The former Bellator MMA bantamweight champion will look to snap a two-fight losing streak when he charges into battle against “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” Season 2 winner Enrique Barzola in the featured Bellator 273 prelim on Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. Caldwell, 34, owns a 12-5 record in the Scott Coker-led organization. He last competed at Bellator 259, where he wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Leandro Higo in their May 21 rematch.

As Caldwell creeps toward his forthcoming encounter with Barzola, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career:

Joe Warren

The Sanford MMA rep staked his claim as the No. 1 contender in Bellator MMA’s bantamweight division when he put Warren to sleep with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Bellator 151 headliner on March 4, 2016 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Caldwell drew the curtain 3:23 into Round 1, having authored a thoroughly one-sided thrashing. A former two-division Bellator champion, Warren was a non-factor. Caldwell executed a pair of takedowns and a spectacular belly-to-back suplex, sandwiching ground-and-pound between the techniques. Just 28 years of age at the time, the two-time NCAA All-American wrestler advanced to Warren’s back with little resistance, slipped in the choke and waited for referee Dan Miragliotta to intervene. His star was on the rise.

Joe Taimanglo

Caldwell made one mistake, and “The Juggernaut” capitalized on it. Tamainglo submitted the heavily favored contender with a guillotine choke in the third round of their Bellator 159 main event on July 22, 2016 at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas. Caldwell checked out nine seconds into Round 3, throwing the top of the Bellator MMA bantamweight division into an immediate state upheaval. “The Wolf” controlled virtually all 10 minutes of the first two rounds, as he utilized takedowns and suffocating top control to corral Taimanglo. Caldwell briefly mounted the former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion in the first round and connected with a flying knee in the second, but he failed to shake the Guam native’s resolve. Early in Round 3, Caldwell swooped in for an ill-advised double-leg takedown and found himself hopelessly entangled in the guillotine. Taimanglo, who missed weight for the match, secured his grip and squeezed for the stunning submission. They met for a second time a little more than four months later at Bellator 167, where Caldwell exacted a measure of revenge with a three-round unanimous decision.

Eduardo Dantas

The onetime NCAA wrestling champion became the fifth bantamweight titleholder in Bellator MMA history when he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Dantas in the Bellator 184 headliner on Oct. 6, 2017 at the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. All three cageside judges scored it for Caldwell: 48-47, 48-47 and 50-45. Dantas enjoyed success in bursts—he mounted the Alliance MMA export in the third round and fished for a rear-naked choke in the fourth—but they were too few and far between. Caldwell repeatedly pinned him to the fence, killing valuable time and momentum amid building frustration. He executed a belly-to-back suplex in the first round, dropped Dantas to a knee with a standing elbow in the second and opened a cut near his left eye with some ground-and-pound in the fourth. Needing a finish, Dantas failed in his bid to turn the tide in Round 5.

Kyoji Horiguchi

The then-Rizin Fighting Federation champion continued to cement himself as one of the sport’s premier lighter-weight competitors when he captured the Bellator MMA bantamweight crown with a five-round unanimous decision over Caldwell in a Bellator 222 showcase on June 14, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Scores were 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, all for Horiguchi, who had submitted “The Wolf” with a guillotine choke in the third round of their Rizin 14 pairing the previous New Year’s Eve. Caldwell was effective early, as he exploited his height and reach advantages in the standup exchanges and kept the Japanese superstar off-balance with well-timed takedowns. However, his gas tank could not withstand the workload. Horiguchi conceded takedowns but neutralized the Alliance MMA export from a seated position in a scene that repeated itself over and over again, scoring with short punches as the former NCAA wrestling champion clung to his legs. Caldwell scrambled on top in the fifth round but failed to consolidate his efforts with ground-and-pound or positional advancements, choosing instead to eat a few elbows to the side of the head before nearly wandering into an inverted triangle choke.