Darrion
Caldwell and A.J. McKee are
ready to vie for a berth in the championship round of Bellator
MMA’s featherweight grand prix.
Both Caldwell and McKee made weight without issue on Wednesday
ahead of their headlining clash at Bellator 253. Caldwell tipped
the scales at 144.7 pounds for the five-round bout, while McKee
checked in at 144.8. The Caldwell-McKee winner will eventually
square off against the winner of the Patricio
Freire–Emmanuel
Sanchez bout in the finals of the tournament with 145-pound
gold on the line.
Bellator 253 takes place on Thursday at Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut and will also see Benson
Henderson (170) make his return to welterweight against
Jason
Jackson (170) in the co-main event. The main card airs on CBS
Sports Network and Dazn at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, while the prelims
stream on Bellator’s YouTube channel and Dazn at 4:15 p.m. ET/1:15
p.m. PT.
Caldwell, a former bantamweight title holder, advanced to the
semifinals with a decision win over Henry
Corrales at Bellator 228 and a first-round submission of
Adam
Borics at Bellator 238. The former NCAA national champion
wrestler at North Carolina State University owns notable victories
against the likes of Noad Lahat,
Leandro
Higo, Eduardo
Dantas and Joe
Warren.
McKee, meanwhile, has compiled a 16-0 career mark while competing
exclusively under the Bellator MMA banner. “Mercenary” advanced to
the semifinals with an eight-second KO of Georgi
Karakhanyan in the first round and a third-round submission of
Derek
Campos in the semifinals. The 25-year-old has also bested the
likes of Pat Curran,
John
Teixeira and Justin
Lawrence during his promotional tenure.
Bellator 253 Weigh-in Results:
Darrion
Caldwell (144.7) vs. A.J. McKee
(144.8)
Benson
Henderson (170) vs. Jason
Jackson (170)
Joey
Davis (168.8) vs. Bobby Lee
(170)
Raufeon
Stots (135.2) vs. Keith Lee
(136)
Jeremy
Kennedy (145.5) vs. Matt
Bessette (145.6)
Jaleel
Willis (170) vs. Mark
Lemminger (170.5)
Jay-Jay
Wilson (145.7) vs. Sergio de
Bari (144.7)
Kevin
Ferguson Jr. (154.7) vs. Kaheem
Murray (154.)
Sullivan
Cauley (205) vs. Jason
Markland (204.2)