MMA Junkie Radio co-host and MMA Junkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down the Bellator’s top bouts. Today, we look at an interesting cross-promotional title fight at Bellator 222.
Bellator 222 takes place Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Darrion Caldwell (12-2 MMA, 9-1 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’10” Age: 31 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 74″
- Last fight: Submission loss to Kyoji Horiguchi (Dec. 31, 2018)
- Camp: Alliance MMA (San Diego, CA)
- Stance/striking style: Southpaw/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ Bellator bantamweight champion
+ NCAA Div. 1 wrestling champion
+ Multiple wrestling accolades
+ 2 KO victory
+ 5 submission wins
+ 6 first-round finishes
+ Athletic and explosive mover
^ Closes distance quickly
+ Steadily improved striking ability
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Superb takedown ability
^ Seamlessly chains and transitions
+ Excellent top game and control
^ Floats and rides positions well
Kyoji Horiguchi (27-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’5″ Age: 28 Weight: 135 lbs. Reach: 66″
- Last fight: Knockout win over Ben Nguyen(April 21, 2019)
- Camp: American Top Team (Florida/Japan)
- Stance/striking style: Switch-stance/kickboxing
- Risk management: Good
Supplemental info:
+ RIZIN Bantamweight champion
+ Black belt karate (2nd degree)
+ RIZIN bantamweight grand prix champ
+ Multiple Shooto titles
+ 14 KO victories
+ 3 submission wins
+ 10 first-round finishes
+ KO Power
+ Fast hand and foot speed
^ Superb blitzes and lateral movement
+ Solid pocket awareness
^ Moves head and counters well
+ Improved wrestling and scrambling ability
+ Dangerous ground striker
Point of interest: Blitzing vs. countering
Serving as an interesting piece of cross-promotional candy, Bellator 222 will kick off its main card with a rematch between the promotion’s bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell, who will be looking to avenge a loss to Rizin FF bantamweight champ Kyoji Horiguchi.
Considering that both men tend to favor fighting on the outside to stage counters and blitzes, it will be interesting to see which man decides to lead the exchanges this time around.
Despite being an accoladed wrestler who unabashedly works toward his strengths early and often, Caldwell has quietly been crafting his striking behind the scenes. Working with Alliance MMA in San Diego for the past few years, the All-American wrestler offers some intriguing offense.
Operating out of a southpaw stance, Caldwell will usually circle on the outside as he offers up different feints and fakes. Utilizing his exceptionally long frame and reach for the weight class, the 31-year-old launches disruptive jabs and crosses that can halt his opponent’s initial momentum.
Embracing his southpaw sensibilities, Caldwell also carries hard kicks that he variates between the body, head and legs. Although I don’t expect Caldwell to trade back and forth with Horiguchi, his upgraded confidence and technique point to signs of improvement.
Even in his fight with former champion Eduardo Dantas, Caldwell was able to parlay failed offense into opportunity, hitting a slick elbow off a separation that dropped his foe and helped turn the tide of the fight. Nevertheless, the American will need to be careful going against a fighter who makes his money in and out of the breaks.
Training in martial arts since the age of 5, Horiguchi shows the preternatural understanding of combative ranges you only see from years of emersion.
Effectively circling on the outside, Kyoji will masterfully blitz once finding an angle to his liking. But what makes Horiguchi an above average Karate striker is his superb pocket awareness and lateral movement, something he uses to roll underneath offense to come back with shots of his own.
The Japanese standout also wields some wicked-fast kicks and knees off of his lead leg, which could help serve as a deterrent for the looming level-changing threats that will likely await him in the Bellator cage.
Next point of interest: Wrestling in the cage
Point of interest: Wrestling in the cage
Considering their first fight took place in a ring, many are wondering how the grappling stanzas may change once we see these two operate in a cage.
There is a school of thought that says it’s more difficult to both initiate takedowns and control your opposition within the confines of a ring. Whereas, in a cage, pinning and securing space becomes something much more tangible due to the solid surfaces alone.
However, throughout the years of evolution in our sport, we have seen fighters use said surfaces inside to cage to counter wrestling efforts, as it is now common to see fighters using the fence to either stay standing or get back to their feet.
In fact, we saw Horiguchi (with the accompaniment of defensive fundamentals like hand-fighting, of course) use what give he could get off the ropes in a similar fashion in their first fight, which makes me wonder who the cage may ultimately help more in this one.
Still, Horiguchi’s grappling improvements aside, there are no easy answers for the brand of wrestling Caldwell can offer once he gets going.
Even in college, the All-American’s funky style befuddled fellow wrestlers en route to his NCAA championship. Add in athleticism to already stellar technique, and what you have is a problem that can be difficult to solve.
Aside from the two times he’s been caught sticking his neck out too far on a shot, Caldwell has shown a formidable takedown ability. From chaining off of failed attempts to picking ankles that make themselves available, Caldwell can change directions at the drop of a dime.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Caldwell go back to his original game plan and score takedowns here. I will, however, be curious to see if he can do a better job of controlling Horiguchi without giving anything away or overexerting himself. Horiguchi may primarily fight in Japan, but he’s also stayed consistent with his training trips to American Top Team –– a camp that knows how to prepare a fighter for this type of challenge.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
Despite the outcome of their first fight, the oddsmakers and public seem to be siding with the current Bellator champ, listing Caldwell -175 and Horiguchi +145 as of this writing.
Considering the stereotype of Japanese fighters fairing poorly stateside (coupled with the fact the Caldwell had a bit of a short camp his last time out), then I can see why perhaps people aren’t too confident in a repeat performance. After all, it’s not often you discount NCAA wrestling champs in this game.
That said, I can’t help but see this matchup playing out similarly to Kevin Lee’s recent battle with Raphael dos Anjos.
Caldwell may have an athletic and skills ceiling that makes it real easy to get on board his train, but I’m still not sure I can trust him to keep both his focus and an applicable pace against a composed and experienced fighter who can finish emphatically from multiple spots. Unless Caldwell can get off real damage early and often or catch his counterpart with an opportunistic submission, then I suspect that Horiguchi will find his spot to finish before this five-round affair comes to a close.
Prediction: Horiguchi inside the distance
For more on Bellator 222, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.
