Complete Event Photos Here

 

THACKERVILLE, OK. (Lub peb hlis ntuj 4, 2016) – It’s safe to say Darrion Caldwell (9-0) asserted himself as a legitimate title contender with his victory over Joe Warren (13-5) nyob rau hauv lub ntsiab kev tshwm sim ntawm “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd at WinStar Resort and Casino.

As many expected, the fight quickly made it to the mat, nrog “The Wolf” taking down the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” and initiating a sequence of ground-and-pound offense. After Warren made it back to his feet, the former NC State wrestler suplexed Warren and sunk in a rear-naked choke — that Warren refused to tap to — forcing referee Dan Miragliotta to wave off the bout at 3:23 ntawm puag ncig ib.

Following the technical submission victory, Caldwell made good use of his time on the microphone with color commentator Jimmy Smith, calling out current bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao, simply saying: “F*ck you [Marcos] Galvao, you’re a p*ssy.” That’s nine straight victories for the former NCAA Champion to begin his mixed martial arts career, three wins since making the transition from featherweight to bantamweight. Meanwhile, Warren has now dropped two out of three and will not get a shot at the winner of Galvao and Eduardo Dantas when they do finally meet.

 

In the co-main event of the evening, Fernando Gonzalez (25-13) extended his winning streak to five at the expense of Gilbert Smith (12-5), taking home a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The takedowns were likely the difference on the judges’ scorecards, but both fighters had their moments over the course of 15 feeb. Gonzalez now moves even closer to a shot at the 170-pound title, or a matchup with Michael Page, who was originally slated to face “Lub Menifee cov neeg vwm Flash” before withdrawing. The future of the division will be much clearer following “Bellator 153: Koreshkov vs. Henderson” Plaub Hlis Ntuj 22, thaum Benson Henderson challenges Andrey Koreshkov for the welterweight belt.

 

Yamauchi li (19-3) came into his fight against Bubba Jenkins (11-2) riding a wave of momentum after three-straight wins, but the Arizona State wrestling standout used his world-class grappling to neutralize the striking and jiu-jitsu prowess of Yamauchi. The 23-year-old Japanese competitor took the back of Jenkins for the duration of round one and nearly secured an arm bar late in the final round, tab sis “The Highlight Kid’s” effective grappling was the difference, earning the unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27). Jenkins now has won three consecutive fights since his January 2015 tsis rau Georgi Karakhanyan.

During the opening main card contest at “Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell,” Sirwan Kakai (12-4) dropped his first fight under the Bellator MMA banner to Joe Taimanglo (22-6-1) ntawm unanimous kev txiav txim siab (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). It looked as though “Baby Joe” was going to finish the contest early — sinking in an Anaconda Choke before transitioning to a deep guillotine — but “Zohan” weathered the storm and hung around for the final ten minutes, even creating some bright spots of his own in the third and final round. Nyob rau hauv lub kawg, lub tsev hais plaub’ cage side awarded the Guam-native his third consecutive victory and sent Kakai back to the drawing board.

 

Preliminary Card tau:

Treston Thomison (9-4) yeej Aaron Roberson (5-4) ntawm raws (Guillotine) R2, 2:20

Jermayne Barnes (1-1) yeej Derek Palmer (0-1) ntawm raws (Punches) R2, 1:17

Neiman Gracie (4-0) yeej Roger Carroll (16-14) via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Ricky Turcios (6-0) yeej Steve Garcia (6-1) via Split Decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

Justin Patterson (7-1) yeej Chance Rencountre (8-2) via Split Decision (29-28. 28-29. 29-28)

Ray Ntoo (6-1) yeej Chris Jones (10-4) ntawm TKO (Punches) R1, 3:10

Complete Weigh-In Photos Here

THACKERVILLE, OK (Lub peb hlis ntuj 3, 2016) – For the third consecutive Friday, Bellator MMA returns to Spike, this time around with "Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell.” Nyob rau hauv lub ntsiab kev tshwm sim, Joe Warren (13-4) looks to live up to his self-proclaimed label as the “Baddest Man on the Planet” against one of Bellator MMA’s brightest young stars in the undefeated Darrion Caldwell (8-0).

 

"Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” airs nyob thiab dawb nyob rau ntawm cov ntsia hlau loj ntawm 9 p.m. THIAB/8 p.m. I, thaum ua ntej bouts yuav kwj nyob rau Bellator.com thiabLub Bellator Mobile App.

Nyob rau hauv lub co-ntsiab kev tshwm sim, Gilbert Smith (12-4) will try to put an end to Fernando Gonzalez’s (24-13) four-fight winning streak when the two go toe-to-toe. Nyob rau hauv tas li ntawd, Yamauchi li (19-2) comes into the fight riding a wave of momentum after three-straight wins, but Arizona State wrestling standout Bubba Jenkins (10-2) will look put an end to that win streak. In bantamweight action, Sirwan Kakai (12-3) will make his seventh appearance under the Bellator MMA umbrella, and is riding a two-fight winning streak as he prepares for Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1).

 

Daim pib rau "Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” are on sale now and start at just $45. You can purchase tickets at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Box Office, as well as Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. Qhov rooj rau cov kev tshwm sim qhib 5:00 p.m. I hauv zos lub sij hawm, with the first contest taking place 45 feeb tom qab.

 

Main Card: (Live on SPIKE – 9 p.m. THIAB/8:00 p.m. I)

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Main Event: Joe Warren (135.2) vs. Darrion Caldwell (135.6)

 

Bellator MMA Welterweight Co-Main Event: Gilbert Smith (170.4) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (171)

 

Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature Bout: Yamauchi li (146) vs. Bubba Jenkins (146)

 

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Feature Bout: Sirwan Kakai (135.6) vs. Joe Taimanglo (135.4)

 

Preliminary Card: (Spike.com - 6:45 p.m. THIAB/5:45 p.m. I)

 

Bellator MMA Welterweight Feature Fight: Roger Carroll (169.8) vs. Neiman Gracie (170.6)

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Feature Fight: Steve Garcia (135.4) vs. Ricky Turcios (135)

Bellator MMA Welterweight Feature Fight: Justin Patterson (170.2) vs. Chance Rencountre (169.2)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature sib ntaus: Chris Jones (152.4) vs. Ray Ntoo (145.4)

Bellator MMA Middleweight Feature sib ntaus: Derek Palmer (194) vs. Jermayne Barnes (202.4)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature sib ntaus: Treston Thomison (145.6) vs. Aaron Roberson (146)

 

Click below for “What to Watch: Warren vs. Caldwell”

Raug Monica, California. (Lub ob hlis ntuj 29, 2016) – This Friday, Bellator MMA returns to Spike for the third consecutive Friday with "Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell.” The event takes place from the WinStar World Casino & Resort nyob rau hauv Thackerville, OK, and features a main event between highly touted undefeated bantamweight Darrion Caldwell (8-0) challenging former two-division world champion and the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren (13-4).

Daim pib rau "Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” are on sale now and start at just $45. You can purchase tickets at the WinStar World Casino and Resort Box Office, as well as Ticketmaster.com and Bellator.com. Qhov rooj rau cov kev tshwm sim qhib 5:00 p.m. I hauv zos lub sij hawm, with the first contest taking place 45 feeb tom qab.

"Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” airs nyob thiab dawb nyob rau ntawm cov ntsia hlau loj ntawm 9 p.m. THIAB/8 p.m. I, thaum ua ntej bouts yuav kwj nyob rau Bellator.com thiab Lub Bellator Mobile App.. Additional bouts will be announced in the coming weeks.

 

Joe Warren (13-4) vs. Darrion Caldwell (8-0)

Warren has just about done it all under the Bellator MMA banner, winning titles at featherweight and bantamweight during his nearly six-year promotional tenure. Tam sim no, Warren has his sights set on another run with the 135-pound title, a belt he lost during an intense encounter with Marcos Galvao early in 2015. A 2006 Pan American and World Champion in Greco-Roman competition, the 39-year-old will test himself against a young competitor who excels in the same skillset that Warren has used to his advantage for most of his career, wrestling.

 

With five impressive outings in a little over a year and a half under the Bellator MMA umbrella, it was only a matter of time before “The Wolf” found himself in a position to compete for a world title. The next stop on the road to championship gold goes through Warren, a man who has held Galvao’s belt already. A standout on the wrestling team at NC State University, the 27-year-old Caldwell most recently submitted Shawn Rev via rear-naked choke in the first frame, adding to his tally of finishes (4). Initially a featherweight, Caldwell looks much more comfortable now at 135-pounds and as he proclaimed during a recent interview, “I foresee myself competing against Joe [Warren] with a No. 1 contender shot on the line, sooner rather than later.”

 

Fernando Gonzalez (24-13) vs. Gilbert Smith (12-4)

Gonzalez took a brief hiatus from MMA to compete in the kickboxing portion of the groundbreaking "Bellator MMA: Dynamite 1 " event in September, losing a tightly contest decision to world-renowned striker Paul "Semtex" Daley. Gonzalez now returns to his comfort zone of MMA, where he has strung together an impressive four-fight winning streak. A veteran of the Scott Coker-founded Strikeforce promotion, as well as World Extreme Cagefighting, Gonzalez has been competing professionally since 2003.

 

Smith will be making his Bellator MMA debut against a fighter who is currently in the midst of a four-fight winning streak. "Ib tag hmo Magic” is on a bit of a roll of his own, coming into the promotion riding a two-bout winning streak. A veteran of UFC and most recently RFA, Smith won the regional promotion’s welterweight belt in June, defending the title one time before signing with Bellator.

 

Yamauchi li (19-2) vs. Bubba Jenkins (10-2)

Yamauchi comes into the fight riding a wave of momentum he’s caught after wins against Mike Richman, Martin Stapleton, thiab Isao Kobayashi. The 23-year-old Japanese fighter has only lost once in six appearances under the Bellator MMA banner and has notched 15 ntawm nws 19 wins as a professional by way of submission.

 

It’s hard to ignore Jenkins inside or outside the Bellator MMA cage, being that “The Highlight Kid” also doubles as a podcast host during his free time. The Arizona State alum notched two straight wins to cap off 2015, tsis ntev los no, an impressive offensive display against a promising prospect in Jordan Parsons.

 

Sirwan Kakai (12-3) vs. Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1)

Taimanglo will be making his seventh appearance under the Bellator MMA umbrella, and is riding a two-fight winning streak. A Guam-native, “The Juggernaut” has stopped his opponent in 21 of his victories and has only lost twice in his last 14 fights. Look for the 31-year-old to make an impression against the bantamweight division’s newest commodity.

 

Kakai is one of Bellator MMA’s latest signings, joining the fray after a two-fight stint in the UFC. “Zohan," 26, hails from Sweden and owns 10 finishes in his 12 victories as a professional fighter. With a bantamweight title fight one-week prior and another marquee 135-pound pairing in the main event, it will be interesting to see what a win does for Kakai in the grand scheme of things.

 

Sau kom tiav "Bellator 151: Warren vs. Caldwell” Fight Card:

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Main Event: Joe Warren (13-4) vs. Darrion Caldwell (8-0)

Bellator MMA Welterweight Co-Main Event: Gilbert Smith (12-4) vs. Fernando Gonzalez (24-13)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Feature Bout: Yamauchi li (19-2) vs. Bubba Jenkins (10-2)

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Feature Bout: Sirwan Kakai (12-3) vs. Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1)

 

Preliminary Card:

Bellator MMA Welterweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Roger Carroll (16-13) vs. Neiman Gracie (3-0)

Bellator MMA Bantamweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Steve Garcia (6-0) vs. Ricky Turcios (5-0)

Bellator MMA Welterweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Justin Patterson (6-1) vs. Chance Rencountre (8-1)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Chris Jones (10-3) vs. Ray Ntoo (5-1)

Bellator MMA Middleweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Derek Palmer (Debut) vs. Jermayne Barnes (0-1)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Steven Peterson (13-4) vs. Stephen Banaszak (5-5)

Bellator MMA Featherweight Yam ua ntej Bout: Treston Thomison (8-4) vs. Aaron Roberson (5-3)