Fight Path: Darrion Caldwell believes best yet to come, starting at Bellator 112

Wrestling was such a skill and a focus for Darrion Caldwell that the New Jersey-bred athlete couldn’t meet one of his goals.

“In my town, the school’s eighth-graders always went to Washington D.C.,” Caldwell told MMAjunkie. “My brothers had done it, and I really wanted to do it.

“I got serious about wrestling in seventh grade, and there was a national tournament right around the time of that trip when I was in eighth grade. Do I give up this trip with my buddies that I’ve been looking forward to, or do I follow something I’m passionate about?”

Caldwell followed his passion. It led to him a standout college wrestling career and, in a way, to the fast success he has experienced in his MMA career.

The former NCAA Division I wrestling champion at North Carolina State will try to continue his undefeated start (3-0) when he takes on Lance Surma (2-0) on the preliminary card at Bellator 112 on Friday in Hammond, Ind. It will be Caldwell’s Bellator debut, coming on the same card with the organization’s featherweight world championship match between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran and the opening round of the welterweight tournament.

To get there, the 26-year-old featherweight has overcome a massive shoulder injury that happened in the offseason after he won his 2009 national championship. The severe dislocation cost him a healthy finish to his college career and has caused numerous minor (if any could be called minor) dislocations since, even while he is sleeping.

After moving to Arizona to train at Power MMA and Fitness, Caldwell won his first three fights to set up his anticipated Bellator debut. His success has also come with sacrifices, including giving up his wrestling career that he had hoped to continue after college.

But committing to a goal despite the costs isn’t new to Caldwell, who still has never made it to D.C.

“Ah, I didn’t, man,” Caldwell said when asked if he ever made up that visit. “I’ve gotta get there.”

One of the nation’s best

Caldwell was raised in Rahway, N.J., as one of six children. He was gifted athletically, especially when trying new sports with his three brothers.

When he was in fourth grade, he noticed that one of his friends was involved in wrestling. He was curious about it, so he asked his friend to show him what it was about. They went to the friend’s backyard, and his friend’s father noticed he had talent.

Not long after, he went to one of his friend’s wrestling tournaments, where his friend lost in the finals. That upset Caldwell, who vowed to start wrestling and win the same tournament the next year.

That’s exactly what he did, beating the same kid in the final who had beaten his buddy. In a twist, Caldwell became good friends with the kid he had just beaten, Eddie McCray, and they remain friends today. McCray is in the early stages of his own fighting career after a wrestling career, Caldwell said.

Caldwell moved on to a high school career during which he went 146-4, including two undefeated seasons as a sophomore and a senior and won three state championships in New Jersey.

Combined, he finished high school and college with a 255-17 record, the breadth of which is his proudest achievement in his wrestling career.

“I think what stands out to me from my career is a 90-some winning percentage, which I think says a lot about consistency,” he said. “I wanted to be great, and I tried to make that happen.”

A different career

But Caldwell’s college career didn’t end the way he would’ve wanted it to.

After winning the 2009 national championship, he suffered a major shoulder injury in a way that he might not like to admit.

“I was rollerblading,” he said. “All of things, right?”

That severe dislocation caused him to take a redshirt year in 2009-10, and he also missed much of the 2010-11 season. He returned to qualify for the NCAA tournament as a senior, but his career ended with an injury default after injuring the shoulder in a second-round victory.

He said the shoulder continues to be susceptible to dislocation. When asked how many times that has happened, he said, “Too many times. Probably like 25 times. I’ll be sleeping and laying on my hands and wake up with it dislocated.”

But that hasn’t stopped him from moving into another career. He had admired MMA while still wrestling for its showmanship, and after wrestling with the U.S. national team following college but not being chosen for the Olympic team, he wanted to try something new.

Through connections, he moved to Arizona to begin training. Because he had competed at a high level and had his significant wrestling skills, he became a professional immediately, debuting in September 2012 and winning his first three fights in Legacy Fighting Championship shows.

He then signed with Bellator, which has led to the upcoming debut, which Caldwell hopes will be a fuller display of his talents to the MMA world.

“I don’t think I’ve really been able to show what I’m capable of,” he said. “(The fights so far) weren’t indicators of what’s to come.”

Catching up

Last week, Andrew Sanchez told us about transforming himself from a four-time NAIA All-American wrestler and two-time national champion into an MMA pro (and, actually, also a music pro as part of his six-man rock band, The Cauliflowers).

Sanchez continued his hot start by beating Miles Marshall at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 13 last week. The second-round TKO boosted Sanchez to 5-1.

For the latest on Bellator 112, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens “Fight Path” each week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.