Are you ready for a bantamweight world title fight? Well, Bellator 195 is going down this Friday night with Darrion Caldwell defending his 135 pound crown against the 18-3 Leandro Higo in the main event. In the name of divisional relevancy, the co-main event has the former two-divisional king Joe Warren taking on the only man to defeat Caldwell, Joe Taimanglo. Also on the card, former women’s flyweight title challenger Emily Ducote is tasked with taking out the 1-0 Heather Hardy hype killer, Kristina Williams.
Have you ever seen a three-division champion in MMA? Bellator newcomer Juan Archuleta is king of kings for the KOTC promotion, owning titles at bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight. Friday, he puts his 17-1 record on the line against the 15-14 William Joplin. The featured prelim of the evening will showcase NCAA wrestling standout Romero Cotton in his sophomore appearance in a professional MMA fight, taking on the 1-1 Justin Reeser in the middleweight division.
Bellator 195 can be seen on the Paramount Network at 9:00 P.M. ET with the prelims streaming online at 8:00 P.M .ET.
Main Card:
Darrion Caldwell (11-1 MMA, 8-1 Bellator) vs. Leandro Higo (18-3 MMA; 1-1 Bellator): Bantamweight Title
Darrion Caldwell is set to make his first title defense since taking the throne from Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 184 this past October. Aside from his lone hiccup that was a third-round submission loss to Joe Taimanglo, the 10-1 Caldwell has been nothing short of dominant thus far in his young career. He has a funky outside game on the feet, armed with rangy kicks and unorthodox entries, and his wrestling…psh, second to none. The 2009 NCAA national wrestling champion hasn’t had too much trouble tossing around his MMA opposition, including a crowd pleasing knack for the suplex. Are we witnessing the start of the Caldwell era?
Leandro Higo put up a respectable performance in his Bellator debut, going to war with the then champ Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 177, but coming up short in a split decision. Higo was unable to make weight for that bout, so the title was not up for grabs and it was a three-rounder, instead of five. Higo bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Joe Taimanglo this past October, which punched his ticket to a world title fight with Caldwell. On top of 10 submission wins under his belt, Higo has proven that he can grapple with the best in the division, but will it be enough to compete with a wrestling guru and take the title?
Joe Warren (15-6 MMA; 13-5 Bellator) vs. Joe Taimanglo (23-8-1 MMA; 6-4 Bellator): Bantamweight
Even after losing his bantamweight title and failing to get it back, timeless Joe Warren continues to plug away, taking the less elite competition to school with his superior wrestling and tenacious pressure. Such was the case in his last bout, as Warren proved that he can still get his grind on by earning a unanimous nod over young buck Steve Garcia at Bellator 181 back in July of 2017. Dating back to 2012, Warren has only lost to world champions, and has recently bested an up and comer, but now finds himself up against someone who was just knocking at the door of a title shot not even a little over a year ago. Does Warren still have it in him?
Back in 2013, Joe Taimanglo answered a two-fight losing skid with an impressive four-fight run that put him on the map, including an upset of the year candidate submission win over the now bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell. Due to Taimanglo missing weight for the Caldwell fight, he was rematched against the NCAA wrestling standout, and although he made the weight the second time around, he dropped a unanimous decision to snap his winning streak. The slide would continue for Taimanglo, finding himself on the wrong end of another decision, this time to Leandro Higo at Bellator 184. So, Taimanglo has the chance to answer a two-fight losing skid under the Bellator banner once again, but this time must do so against a former two-division champion.
Emily Ducote (6-3 MMA; 4-2 Bellator) vs. Kristina Williams (1-0 MMA/Bellator): (W) Flyweight
Emily Ducote is looking to rebound after falling short in her high stakes rematch with Ilima Macfarlane for the inaugural featherweight belt, at Bellator 186 this past November. Ducote owns a respectable 4-2 record within the promotion, and has shown off a rugged takedown game that is complimented by a rather heavy right hand. This wrestle boxer is also capable of keeping up in the scrambles, and has been known to snag up a submission or two, or actually three. With half of her six wins coming by way of tapout, you better believe Ducote is going to attempt to close the distance and test out her unproven opponent’s ground I.Q.
Kristina Williams made a statement in her professional/promotional debut at Bellator 185 this past October, shattering the nose of Heather Hardy with some impressive head kicking action to earn the second round TKO. With a background in both kickboxing and boxing, and with not much else observed in her first pro MMA fight, there are a ton of questions surrounding the capabilities of Williams in the wrestling and grappling departments. We will more than likely get some answers to those questions this Friday night, because her opponent Ducote has proven that she can get the fight to the floor, so time will tell if Williams is layered up.
Juan Archuleta (17-1 MMA; Bellator Debut) vs. William Joplin (15-14 MMA; Bellator Debut): Featherweight
Juan Archuleta joins Bellator’s featherweight roster this Friday night with a stout 17-1 professional record, most of which was accrued on California’s regional circuit. Under the direction of TUF 2 welterweight winner Joe Stevenson, Archuleta owns a sound wrestling base that earned him the honors of three-division champion for the KOTC promotion, at 135, 145, and 155 pounds. Will Archuleta see the same sort of multi-divisional success that materialized for him on the regional scene? Archuleta will have to start by first getting passed the 15-14 journeyman William Joplin in his promotional debut.
Notable Prelim: