Bellator 159 results: Joe Taimanglo upsets Darrion Caldwell with third-round guillotine submission

It was supposed to be a night where former NCAA Division I national champion wrestler and top bantamweight prospect Darrion Caldwell assumed the no. 1 contender spot for a shot at Eduardo Dantas’ title. Instead, Bellator 159 ended up being a reminder of the unpredictability of mixed martial arts as Caldwell succumbed to a sudden and surprising submission at the hands of Joe Taimanglo despite being dominated for almost the entirety of their bout.

Caldwell kicked things off by attempting a low single, but the Guam native read it and was able to easily walk out of it. Not thirty seconds later, however, Caldwell timed a beautiful double leg that planted Taimanglo on his back. Taimanglo attempted to stand out of it, but nearly gave his back before briefly giving up mount. ‘Baby Joe’ managed to find half guard and eventually full guard. Soon thereafter, Taimanglo was able to stand and with Caldwell attempting a standing kimura as a wrestling ride, Taimanglo was able to reverse position briefly and get behind Caldwell in turtle. The round would end, however, with the NC State national champion on top.

The pair would spend the first minute of the second round simply pawing at each other before Caldwell would score a jumping knee. Caldwell would attempt an outside trip after stunning Taimanglo, but couldn’t make it work. Just after resetting, however, Caldwell was able to go back to the outside trip and this time it planted Taimanglo on his back. After prolonged relative inactivity, referee John McCarthy would stand both up, but only with less than thirty seconds in the round.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Caldwell attempted another low single, but instead of backing out when it failed, tried to transition to a double to start round three. On instinct, Taimanglo jumped on Caldwell’s neck, secured a guillotine choke and forced the top prospect to tap just nine seconds into …

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