NEW YORK – Darrion Caldwell is primed and ready to face A.J. McKee at Bellator 244, but the former bantamweight champion says he’s not sure McKee is quite as keen as he is for the matchup.
McKee (16-0 MMA, 16-0 BMMA) underweight surgery in January to repair knee ligament damage sustained in his quarterfinal win over Derek Campos, but Caldwell (15-3 MMA, 12-2 BMMA) isn’t convinced the undefeated contender is as badly injured as he’d have him believe.
“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.”
Despite the fact there’s still three months to go until they throw down inside the Bellator cage, “The Wolf” already seemed to have his game face on as he discussed the potential dynamics of the matchup.
“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.”
Caldwell is back in a groove after losing back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi as he lost his bantamweight title, then fell short in his tilt at the Rizin equivalent in successive outings. The two losses prompted a change of plan as Caldwell returned to Pinnacle Mixed Martial Arts, where he believes he’s found his mojo again.
“I feel like I kinda just plateaued, you know?” Caldwell said. “Whenever you’re not getting any better, it’s important to make adjustments and improve where you need improvement, and that’s what I did. These last two fights I changed camps, I got back with Jake Behney up there at Pinnacle, and we just hit the ground running. Two fights jumping into this tournament, coming off two straight losses. A loss doesn’t define me, (and) a win doesn’t define me, either. But this million dollars is everything to me, so I’m coming in guns a-blazing. I’m ready to take what’s mine.”
During his time as bantamweight champ, Caldwell viewed himself as the man nobody wanted to fight, citing his bid to move up and challenge Patricio Freire for the featherweight title as an example of how top fighters preferred to avoid him. But now, as part of a tournament structure, the 32-year-old says he’s in the perfect situation to face the best. That, he said, makes him a happy man.
Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 238. (Photo courtesy of Bellator)
“I’m about to be a Bellator featherweight tournament winner,” Caldwell said. “I get to beat guys with no losses on their record, like I just did (against Adam Borics in the quarterfinals) – and like I’m about to do. Then I get to fight the guy who’s been talking for two years. Since I’ve been a champion at ’35, he’s been talking. But he didn’t want to sign the paper for me to come up and fight him.
“I think this is a stylistic thing. The tournament style fits wrestlers, (and) I’m a wrestler. I’ve done this a million times; there’s no difference. I see a bracket, and I see my name as a champion, and that’s how it’s going to be. Facts.”
As for the matchup with McKee, Caldwell said the undefeated prospect will come up against the most athletic opponent of his career, with the former 135-pound champion warning that facing him represents a test levels above those “The Mercenary” has faced before.
“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.”
To hear more from Caldwell, watch the video above.