INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A former Bellator bantamweight champion is halfway to featherweight glory.
Darrion Caldwell booked his trip to the Bellator featherweight Grand Prix final four Saturday night with a swift and impressive victory over previously undefeated Adam Borics in the co-feature bout of Bellator 238.
A tapout by way of rear-naked choke ended the tournament quarterfinal bout at just 2:20 of the opening round.
Caldwell (14-3 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) shot for a double-leg takedown after an early exchange. Borics (14-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) tried to turn it into a guillotine choke. Caldwell shook it off when they hit the mat, then did an expert job improving his position. He landed strikes as Borics tried to get back to his feet, then seized the opening for the perfectly applied rear-naked choke for the finish.
“This was my night, this is my tournament,” Caldwell said after his eighth career victory via finish.
Caldwell will face undefeated A.J. McKee in the semifinal round, date and location TBD. The duo had a nose-to-nose staredown in the cage after the bout.
The featherweight tournament quarterfinal bout was the Bellator 238 co-main event at The Forum. The main card streamed on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Up-to-the-minute Bellator 238 results include:
- Darrion Caldwell def. Adam Borics via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 2:20 (featherweight grand prix quarterfinal bout)
- Juan Archuleta def. Henry Corrales via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28. 29-28)
- Sergio Pettis def. Alfred Khashakyan via submission (guillotine choke) — Round 1, 3:00
- Raymond Daniels def. Jason King via TKO — Round 1, 3:07
- Emilee King def. Ava Knight via submission (rear-naked choke) — Round 1, 2:18
- Brandon Bender def. Joshua Jones via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
- Aaron Pico def. Daniel Carey via KO (punch) — Round 2, 0:15
- AJ Agazarm def. Adel Altamimi via submission (triangle choke) — Round 3, 1:22
- Mario Navarro vs. Jay Jay Wilson def. Navarro via submission (armbar) — Round 1, 2:48
- Curtis Millender def. Moses Murrietta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
- Chris Avila def. Anthony Taylor via majority decision (28-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Miguel Jacob def. David Pacheco via unanimous decision (30-27. 30-26, 30-27)
