Jr. vs Caldwell

Who won Jr. vs Caldwell?

AJ McKee Jr beat Darrion Caldwell by submission in the 1st round during the main event of Bellator 253, on Thursday 19th November 2020 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Featherweight division, which meant the weight limit was 145 pounds (10.4 stone or 65.8 KG).

Jr. vs Caldwell stats

AJ McKee Jr stepped into the octagon with an undefeated record of 16 wins, zero losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 5 by submission.

Darrion Caldwell made his way to the cage with a record of 15 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 2 of those wins coming by knock out and 6 by submission.

AJ McKee Jr's Bellator record stood at 22-1-0, while Darrion Caldwell's came in at 12-6-0.

The stats suggested McKee Jr had a large advantage in power over Caldwell, boasting a 38% knock out percentage over Caldwell's 13%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Caldwell had a slight advantage over McKee Jr, with a 40% submission rate over McKee Jr's 31%.

AJ McKee Jr was the younger man by 7 years, at 29 years old.

McKee Jr was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2015, 2 years and 6 months later than Caldwell, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 5 less professional rounds, 48 to Caldwell's 53.

Jr. vs Caldwell form

AJ McKee Jr had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Clay Collard at PFL vs. Bellator: CHAMPS on 24th February 2024 by submission in the 1st round at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Previous to that, he had beaten Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 301 on 17th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Wintrust Arena, Chicago, United States.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Roberto ‘Satoshi’ de Souza at Bellator MMA vs. RIZIN on 31st December 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Before that, he was victorious against Spike Carlyle at Bellator 286 on 1st October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, United States.

He had lost to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Featherweight championship fight at SAP Center, San Jose.

Caldwell had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going the distance twice.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Adam Borics at Bellator 238 on 25th January 2020 by submission in the 1st round at The Forum, Inglewood, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Kyoji Horiguchi at Bellator 222 on 14th June 2019 by unanimous decision in their Bellator Bantamweight championship fight at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Kyoji Horiguchi at RIZIN 14 on 31st December 2018 by submission in the 3rd round in their Rizin Bantamweight championship fight at Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.

Before that, he had beaten Noad Lahat at Bellator 204 on 17th August 2018 by knockout in the 2nd round at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

He had defeated Leandro Higo at Bellator 195 on 2nd March 2018 by submission in the 1st round in their Bellator Bantamweight championship fight at WinStar World Casino, Thackerville.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, AJ McKee Jr had been fighting more than Darrion Caldwell.

Going to this contest, AJ McKee Jr had last fought 2 months ago, while Darrion Caldwell's last outing had been 4 years, 2 months and 30 days ago.

McKee Jr's last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years and 9 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 4 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Caldwell's last 5 fights had come over a period of 6 years, 1 month and 22 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 25 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 12 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.4 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Jr. vs Caldwell?

Sorry, we couldn’t find any historical odds for Jr. vs Caldwell.