Darrion Caldwell, a national college wrestling champion and one of the brightest up-and-coming bantamweights in MMA, will vie for a title shot this summer when he faces Joe Taimanglo in the main event of Bellator 159.
There’s also a potential slugfest looming in the co-main event of the evening, where longtime UFC veteran Melvin Guillard will try to stop a long losing skid against Bellator mainstay David Rickels.
Bellator 159 will take place July 22 at Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas. Officials with Bellator confirmed the news to Bleacher Report MMA Tuesday evening.
The winner between Caldwell (9-0) and Taimanglo (22-6-1) will face the winner between current bantamweight champion Marcos Galvao and challenger Eduardo Dantas, who are scheduled to fight June 17 at Bellator 156.
Caldwell, 28, first gained notoriety in the combat sports community when he captured a Division I national title as a wrestler at NC State University. Since switching over to MMA, he’s ripped through every opponent he’s faced, including six fights under the Bellator banner.
Most recently, Caldwell choked out former champ Joe Warren in the first round of their bout in November. Bleacher Report MMA ranked Caldwell its No. 5 overall prospect for 2016.
Guam native Taimanglo, 31, is less well-known to fans and will be the underdog in this main event. He is 5-2 in Bellator and is currently riding a three-fight win streak, punctuated by an upset of Sirwan Kakai in March.
The 33-year-old Guillard (32-16-2-2) would probably love to have that kind of streak right now. Instead, the talented, but inconsistent and troubled, knockout artist has dropped three straight, including his only two contests in Bellator. In Rickels (17-4-1), Guillard has a dance partner who will probably be willing to brawl. That could mean fireworks, given that the two men have 26 knockout wins between them.
Bellator 159 will air live on Spike TV beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern.
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