The main card for the second night of Bellator’s December double header is complete with the addition of a bantamweight rematch between Darrion Caldwell and Joe Taimanglo.
Caldwell (9-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) and Taimanglo (23-6-1 MMA, 6-2 BMMA) will open the Spike-televised main card following prelims on MMAjunkie Dec. 3 at at WinStar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The previous day, Bellator 166 takes place at the same location.
Caldwell and Taimanglo met at Bellator 159 in July, the most recent fight for both men. Caldwell did well in the first two rounds, but was caught with a fight-ending guillotine choke at the 0:09 mark of Round 3 (check out video highlights of the bout above). The defeat was the first loss of Caldwell’s career.
The first meeting was set to be a title eliminator at 135 pounds, but Taimanglo missed weight, somewhat dampening the massive upset victory. Caldwell was a 14-1 favorite entering the bout, making the upset the fourth biggest in MMA history.
Taimanglo is now riding a four-fight winning streak, the run coming after suffering back-to-back losses. He has finished two of his four opponents during the streak.
Caldwell came into the first bout with Taimanglo off a career-best win over Joe Warren at Bellator 151. After dominating the former multi-division champ, Caldwell locked in a rear-naked choke at the 3:23 mark of Round 1.
The complete Bellator 167 card includes:
MAIN CARD (Spike, 9 p.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)
For more on Bellator 167, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
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