Issue 175

January 2019

Darrion Caldwell looks back at five of the the fights that have established his reputation as one of Bellator's best at 135 pounds.

1. Joe Warren, Bellator 151

Joe Warren was pretty much a role model to kids like me in the wrestling community. That was a fight that catapulted me to have any belief, like, OK, if I could beat a former world champion I can really get it done in this sport. I was still young.

I was undefeated. I hadn’t had any hiccups yet. I wasn’t facing the best of the best competition to that point. I had great guys around me, I had great coaches around me but I hadn’t fought the best of the best just yet. I think that Joe Warren fight was that fight where I was like, ‘OK. This is my coming home party.’ I’m here and I can make a splash.

2. Eduardo Dantas, Bellator 184

Winning the world championship was a huge one for me. This fight could be number one but I feel like I knew I could do that. Going into the Warren fight I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into. Maybe from the inside looking out, but from the outside looking in things could have been different. I was the favorite but in my head it was like, ‘This is Joe Warren, a world champion in a sport that I was not a world champion in (wrestling) and he’s a former world champion in a sport that I am currently in. The Dantas fight was definitely number two. The Warren fight gave me all the confidence in the world that I could become a champion and that’s what happened in the Dantas fight.

3. Joe Taimanglo, Bellator 167

The rematch was very important. To take a loss on your record, for me, that’s how I consider it. If a guy beats me, I have to run that back and fight him again. It took away that cloud that was lingering over me, all the questions, all of the doubts, they just vanished. I wound up changing a lot of things coming out of that fight. I found the right gym that fit me. That was the most important thing, being able to feel at home here at Alliance in between a loss and coming back to fight the same guy. I credit everything in that fight to Alliance MMA because they made the proper adjustments to get me that win. That was huge.

4. Noad Lahat, Bellator 204

This fight is right up there, too. There is no better feeling that putting a guy to sleep and knocking him out. That feeling I felt that night is almost unmatched. I almost want to put this fight higher on the list but the others are so special, too. There is no greater feeling than knocking someone out. Early on in my career after I won a fight I didn’t see or notice the stu that happens right after a fight. Everything is moving so fast. Things kind of slowed down after this fight. I was able to make eye contact with my parents and Phil Davis and Luke Rockhold and all those guys. It was a surreal moment.

5. Leandro Higo, Bellator 195

That was a big one because it was a title defense. It was a nice submission win. It’s easier to get to the top and it’s much harder to stay there. I proved that I can get there and stay there. That is definitely a top five fight for me. Everyone has different routes to the top. For me, I was able to clear out my division and do it. The fluky title wins used to happen more in the sport but now that the sport has developed more you see the best guys winning. I think everything that comes with being a champion, that target on your back, it makes for a harder road but for me, that’s what I wanted. That’s what I envisioned. I want to be the guy that everyone wants to fight. I am just enjoying it, honestly.