Darrion Caldwell has taken the Bellator bantamweight title from Eduardo Dantas.
Caldwell caught a kick early and pushed Dantas against the fence. He landed a German Suplex on his opponent. He remained in control of Dantas. The two were separated for a lack of action. Dantas landed a right hand. Caldwell responded with a left hand. The bell later sounded.
Caldwell threw out a kick and a knee early in the second stanza. He grabbed a leg and took Dantas down briefly. “DuDu” was able to break free. A body kick was there for Dantas. Caldwell once again kept the pressure. He rocked Dantas with a lunging elbow. The horn sounded and it was another clear round for Caldwell.
The third round began and Dantas once again was pushed towards the cage. Dantas got aggressive when Caldwell missed a kick and ended up having his back towards the fence yet again. They broke apart and Caldwell landed a hard kick to the body. Dantas was able to gain top control. He remained in control until the end of the round.
Caldwell tripped Dantas in the fourth round. He dropped some elbows to the face of his opponent. A cut formed above the eye of Dantas. The champion went for a kimura, but couldn’t make anything happen. The round ended with Dantas trying to climb on his opponent’s back.
A jumping knee to the body was there for Caldwell early in the final round. He followed that up with a right hand. Caldwell went for a trip, but didn’t get it. He avoided any danger from Dantas being in top control. The final bell sounded with Dantas taking the back of his opponent, but it was too little too late.
Final Result: Darrion Caldwell def. Eduardo Dantas via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 50-45)
