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Former Bellator Fighter Fails Drug Test In Ongoing Firearm And Meth Case

Former Bellator fighter “Baby” Joe Taimanglo was warned by a judge this week after submitting a positive drug test to Adult Probation Services in his native Guam. The 37-year-old Taimanglo was originally arrested in October 2020. Law enforcement in Guam noticed expired plates on the scooter the former Bellator fighter was driving and stopped “Baby…

Continue Reading Former Bellator Fighter Fails Drug Test In Ongoing Firearm And Meth Case at MMA News.

Former Bellator fighter “Baby” Joe Taimanglo was warned by a judge this week after submitting a positive drug test to Adult Probation Services in his native Guam.

The 37-year-old Taimanglo was originally arrested in October 2020. Law enforcement in Guam noticed expired plates on the scooter the former Bellator fighter was driving and stopped “Baby Joe.”

Officers found a glass pipe and loaded pistol in a compartment on the scooter. Taimanglo did not have a firearm ID for the pistol, and officers also found a small bag containing methamphetamine in a fanny pack.

In 2021, Taimanglo failed to appear for a scheduled court hearing related to his charges. No warrant was issued for his arrest, and the hearing was rescheduled for a later date. He remains free following this recent failed drug test, but the court has indicated he’ll be put in jail should he fail to remain clean. The former Bellator fighter is due back in court on June 24 to see where his case will go next.

While he’s far from the only current or former MMA fighter to run into legal troubles, Taimanglo is a fairly high-profile example considering his success as a fighter. The Guamanian compiled a 24-9-1 record in an MMA career that started in 2004 and ended in 2018.

Known during his fighting career as “Baby Joe the Juggernaut,” Taimanglo is best known for his time in Bellator from 2013-2018. He went 7-4 fighting for the promotion, initially competing at featherweight before dropping to bantamweight.

His back-to-back main event fights with Darrion Caldwell stand out as a high point in his career; Taimanglo submitted the future Bellator champion in their first bout but lost a decision in the rematch. “Baby Joe” ended his Bellator run with a win over former bantamweight champion Joe Warren in 2018 before officially wrapping his career later that year following a decision loss at WFCA 54.

What’s your reaction to the news about Joe Taimanglo’s legal troubles in his post-fighting career?

Continue Reading Former Bellator Fighter Fails Drug Test In Ongoing Firearm And Meth Case at MMA News.

EXCLUSIVE | Darrion Caldwell Predicts Sergio Pettis To Win Bellator Grand Prix

Former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell expects Sergio Pettis to still have the belt at the end of the upcoming Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix. Caldwell is set to face Enrique Barzola at Bellator 273 to begin his 2022 calendar year. He’s coming off of a tough loss to Leandro Higo at Bellator 259 last […]

Former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell expects Sergio Pettis to still have the belt at the end of the upcoming Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix.

Caldwell is set to face Enrique Barzola at Bellator 273 to begin his 2022 calendar year. He’s coming off of a tough loss to Leandro Higo at Bellator 259 last year by a split decision.

Caldwell is looking to get back in the thick of things in the bantamweight division, but he’ll have to wait after he wasn’t selected for the upcoming Grand Prix. The tournament will begin later this year and feature big names such as Pettis, Kyoji Horiguchi, Patchy Mix, James Gallagher, and Raufeon Stots.

Caldwell, a former champion, is still going to pay attention to the tournament despite not being selected for it. During an exclusive interview with LowKickMMA, Caldwell explained why he thinks Pettis will come out on top in the Grand Prix.

“I think the champ is gonna stay the champ,” Caldwell said. “That fight with Horiguchi, I felt like Horiguchi was winning the fight. But Pettis’ timing was good from Round 1 on. And he stayed in it. I think Pettis is going to win the tournament unless I get a shot. He’s a hard puzzle. It’s like a 1000 piece puzzle that Pettis had to deal with Horiguchi.”

Darrion Caldwell Is Hoping To Get His Bellator Belt Back

Caldwell earned the Bellator title back in 2017 against Eduardo Dantas. He would go on to successfully defend it against Higo before eventually losing it to Horiguchi.

Caldwell then moved up to 145 pounds to enter the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix, eventually losing to AJ McKee. He also told LowKickMMA that he isn’t ruling out a move back to featherweight in the future.

Caldwell has always been one of the biggest names in the promotion, and he’s looking to prove in 2022 that he’s still a legitimate contender at 135 pounds. It’ll all begin at Bellator 273 against a tough prospect in Barzola.

What is your prediction for the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix?

EXCLUSIVE | Darrion Caldwell Ready To Return As Bantamweight King

Darrion Caldwell is returning to his old stomping grounds with a vengeance ahead of his bantamweight fight with Leandro Higo at Bellator 259. The former bantamweight champion is coming off a first-round submission loss to AJ McKee in the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix and spoke with LowKickMMA about his newly-found motivation ahead […]

Darrion Caldwell is returning to his old stomping grounds with a vengeance ahead of his bantamweight fight with Leandro Higo at Bellator 259.

The former bantamweight champion is coming off a first-round submission loss to AJ McKee in the semifinals of the Bellator featherweight grand prix and spoke with LowKickMMA about his newly-found motivation ahead of his re-match with Higo.

One of the new additions to Bellator’s 135-pound division is the rankings system, which has motivated Caldwell towards planning another dominant performance against Higo. In their first fight, Caldwell successfully defended the bantamweight championship belt by submitting Higo just minutes into their bout at Bellator 195.

“It’s cool to see the rankings, it’s not that cool not to see me in it,” Caldwell said. “I haven’t been there for awhile, so I’m here to make a statement. I think guys have forgotten just how dominant I am at 135 and this is the fight to go back out there and prove it.”

The 33-year-old Caldwell is still in the middle of his fighting prime and is looking to make a statement in the stacked bantamweight division. Newly-crowned champion Sergio Pettis has impressed Caldwell after his war against Juan Archuleta at Bellator 258 and thinks it’s a good thing to have a champion who’s ready to grind it out with the best of the best.

Bellator president Scott Coker made some news earlier this week when he alluded to a possible Bantamweight grand prix for later this year. After hearing the news from his boss, Caldwell thinks now is the perfect time for him to remind the masses of his dominance.

“I say give me the money, man,” Caldwell said emphatically. “Realistically, I think that’s my tournament. I went further than any other bantamweight in a tournament. And I think if that happens, I’ll be the champ.”

Caldwell has the opportunity to make a splash at Bellator 259 against Higo. After suffering a gut-wrenching loss, he’s looking forward to testing his grit in one of the most intriguing divisions in all of Mixed Martial Arts.

Do you think Darrion Caldwell is still a force to be reckoned with in Bellator’s bantamweight division?

Darrion Caldwell Makes Bantamweight Return To Face Leandro Higo Again

Former Bellator champion Darrion Caldwell is making his bantamweight return to face Leandro Higo again but this time at Bellator 259. News of the fight announcement was first reported by Alexander K. Lee of MMAFighting. The fight is scheduled for April…

A.J. McKee Plans To Make Darrion Caldwell Fight In Bellator 253 Main Event

A.J. McKee is planning on making Darrion Caldwell get into a fight in the main event of Bellator 253. In the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix, McKee and Caldwell are set to battle on Thursday night in a very intriguing matchup. Leading into t…

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Darrion Caldwell Doubts A.J. McKee’s Injury Was Real

Darrion Caldwell thinks A.J. McKee saying he tore LCL is fake. McKee said he underwent surgery in January after tearing his knee in the Derek Campos fight. Yet, for Caldwell, he doesn’t understand how McKee is healthy all of the sudden and calls it fake news. “Not at all,” Caldwell told MMA Junkie following the […]

Darrion Caldwell thinks A.J. McKee saying he tore LCL is fake.

McKee said he underwent surgery in January after tearing his knee in the Derek Campos fight. Yet, for Caldwell, he doesn’t understand how McKee is healthy all of the sudden and calls it fake news.

“Not at all,” Caldwell told MMA Junkie following the Bellator 2020 showcase press conference. “I feel like A.J.’s a slick dude, and he’s trying to sandbag it and take me off my game. But I will be ready June 6 to put hands on you, and elbows and knees. I don’t think that injury is any bit real at all. Fake news.”

Entering this fight, Darrion Caldwell is confident he’ll get his hand raised as he doesn’t know where McKee can beat him. He suspects the undefeated contender will try to knock him out but says that it’s easier said than done.

“In all honesty, what’s his gameplan?” Caldwell asked. “To knock me out, he said? I think that’s a tough task to accomplish as I don’t really get hit, you know? It’s not something [where] I go in there and just take punches and take damage. So I think he’s going to run into a situation where he’s looking for one thing, and he’s not going to get it.”

In this fight, Darrion Caldwell also believes that McKee won’t be able to deal with his athleticism.

“He ain’t faced color. He ain’t faced me,” he said. “I’ve seen him when he fought somebody athletic. He’s just not the same. He’s going to go in there and beat up all the white boys, then when he fights somebody real, like he’s about to, it’s a different story. That’s ultimately what it boils down to. I’m a different beast, and that’s going to show on June 6.”

In the end, Caldwell is confident he will hand McKee his first pro loss and then will go on to win the featherweight grand prix to become Bellator’s featherweight champion.

Do you think Darrion Caldwell will beat A.J. McKee?