Darrion Caldwell (Photo/Bellator)Former college wrestlers Darrion Caldwell, Logan Storley and Tywan Claxton all came out victorious in main-card bouts at Bellator 204: Caldwell vs. Lahat at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Friday night.
Caldwell, a 2009 NCAA champ, knocked out Noad Lahat at 2:45 of Round 2 of their featherweight (145-pound) main event ... while four-time NCAA All-American Logan Storley scored a second-round TKO of A.J. Matthews in their welterweight (170-pound) bout. Earlier in the evening, Claxton earned a unanimous decision of Cris Lencioni, with all three judges scoring it 30-27 for the former King University/Ohio University mat star.
Caldwell moves up a weight, scores second-round TKO
Darrion Caldwell, who has been Bellator's bantamweight (135-pound) champ, moved up to featherweight to take on Lahat in a non-title bout.
"After a night of exciting and wild fights the first round of this bout let the air out of the building," according to MMAmania.com. "Caldwell sprawled to block a shoot from Lahat, got a takedown in response, and then rode out the most of the round on top. He'd try to pass and Lahat would force the action back into his guard time and time again. Caldwell won but didn't do much damage."
BloodyElbow.com weighed in on the second stanza. "It took all of 20 seconds for Caldwell to find top position in the second round. Just when it looked as if the round was going to mirror what we saw in the first frame, Caldwell suddenly exploded with a series of punches that caught Lahat slipping. The punches kept coming and the referee was forced to step in and waive off the bout."
With the win, Caldwell improves to 13-1 overall and 10-1 in Bellator ... while Lahat is now 13-4, and 3-2 in Bellator.
"I feel good. I'm just grateful to be able to come back to a fight," Caldwell told John McCarthy in a post-match interview. "A lot of s*** happens so to be able to get back in the cage means a lot to me ... Alliance MMA has the best fighters in the world. Expect us to come out in 2019 strong."
Prior to launching his pro MMA career in 2012, Caldwell made a name for himself as a North Carolina State University wrestler by beating defending champ Brent Metcalf of the University of Iowa in the 149-pound finals, 11-6, at the 2009 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in what the late college wrestling historian Jay Hammond declared to be one of the three biggest upsets in NCAA finals history.
Storley remains undefeated in first Bellator event in his home state
Logan Storley, who was a six-time South Dakota high school state champ who went on to earn NCAA All-American honors for the Golden Gophers, made an impressive showing in the first-ever Bellator event in the state of his birth.
"Logan Storley showed off his University of Minnesota wrestling chops in the co-main event, planting A.J. Matthews on the mat and pounding him out with ground strikes in the second," BloodyElbow.com reported.
In writing about the opening round, MMAmania.com wrote, "Storley quickly closed the distance and shoved Matthews up against the fence, where he found his takedown. Punch after punch started landing for Storley, causing the referee to take a close look at the action. Matthews hung tough, forcing Storley to keep moving. From the top of side control, Storley threw an illegal knee to the head of Matthews, causing a break in the action and bringing the bout back to its feet. Upon the restart, Storley aggressively took the back and started working an RNC, but Matthews escaped before the round ended."
"Storley immediately took the fight to the ground to start the second round. Matthews struggled to do much of anything from the bottom, as Storley was able to shut down any and all attempts to get up. Storley started unloading from the top, dropping repeated hammers on Matthews. The referee went in for a closer look, and when Matthews didn't improve his position, the official had no choice but to stop the fight."
The bout ended with a TKO at 3:56 of the second round.
"I spent the last eight weeks preparing for this moment in my home state of South Dakota. Thank you everyone," said Storley, who shares his hometown -- and U of Minnesota mat background -- with Brock Lesnar. "I have to give all the credit in the world to A.J. for coming back and continuing to fight. I messed up, I went for the shoulder and hit the head. Thank you."
Storley, a relative newcomer to MMA, having signed with Bellator just one year ago, is now 9-0 overall, and 4-0 in Bellator bouts. Matthews, a veteran of the cage who has fought professionally since 2007, falls to 9-8-0 overall.
Claxton remains perfect in young MMA career
Tywan Claxton, who launched his pro MMA career last November, is now a flawless 3-0 having scored a unanimous decision over Cris Lencioni in their three-round featherweight (145-pound) fight.
"There was bad blood between them at the weigh-ins and more bad blood between them during the fight," according to MMAmania. "Claxton openly mocked Lencioni's fight style in the first round, causing [referee] Mike Beltran to have to step between them after the bell."
"In the second and third round Claxton dominated by taking Lencioni down, backing away to avoid a stand-up and upkicks, then getting back on top to maul him some more. Lencioni wasn't done after the third frame and Beltran had to get between them again."
"I've got great BJJ coaches, and I am one of the best purple belts, and I watched his fights," Claxton said in the post-fight interview. "I know he likes that series where he goes for an armbar and a triangle so I was very well prepared ..."
"He asked for a catch weight 30 minutes before weigh-ins even started. We're professional fighters, we're grown men. If you say you're going to make weight you make weight. That just got under my skin a little bit. At the weigh ins he started talking trash. How you gonna talk trash when you don't make weight?"
Claxton, who was a NCAA Division II All-American at King University before transferring to Ohio University where he was a two-time NCAA Division I championships qualifier, is now 3-0 in his young MMA career ... while fellow prospect Lencioni is now 4-2.
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