INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It was as impressive a statement as [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] could have possibly made in the quarterfinal round of the Bellator featherweight grand prix: Not only did he take the zero away from Adam Borics in his loss column, but he ran over him, submitting him with a rear-naked choke in less than half of a round on Saturday night.
But Caldwell’s victory was barely in the books before he turned his attention to yet another undefeated fighter: A.J. McKee, whom Caldwell will face in the tournament’s semifinal round.
“He’s good, he’s (16-0) for a reason,” Caldwell said at the Bellator 238 post-fight news conference at The Forum. “But like I said, I’m the guy that beat him. I’m the guy to beat ‘Pitbull.’ I’m going to be a champ at featherweight in 2020.”
The manner in which Caldwell (14-3 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) earned his victory gave fans plenty of reason to anticipate his eventual showdown with McKee. The former Bellator bantamweight champion shot for the double, immediately improved his position when they hit the ground, and softened Borics up with strikes until the perfect moment arrived.
“My body was right where I wanted it to be,” Caldwell said. “I think I opened him up with the elbows, forced him to give me the neck. So it was prefect; I’m taking those 0’s.”
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While Caldwell is known to be a bit testy heading into his fight, he had kind words for a disconsolate Borics after the latter’s first career loss.
“Adam is a great competitor,” Caldwell said. “14-0 is a hard feat, I didn’t even get to 14-0, so to do that is very difficult. So I just told him what he should really understand and really know this isn’t the end of him, you know? It’s only up from here. He just lost to a champion.”
With that, Caldwell gets back to work. And while Caldwell went nose-to-nose with McKee in a post-fight staredown that saw neither fighter give an inch, Caldwell gives McKee his due.
“It’s the same preparation, you know?” Caldwell asked. “Going in, laying the groundwork down early, and then attack it. He’s human. Everybody is beatable, and I proved that tonight. So at the end of the day, I’m going out there do my business, do my job.
“Who knows? Every fight is different, yeah? You can’t really say his ground is flawed when he just got a slick-ass submission. So for me, it’s just about me. At the end of the day, it’s not about these guy it’s about me.”
For more from Caldwell, watch the video above.
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