A third new main event has been set for Bellator 167 after the first two (Pat Curran vs. John Teixeira & Derek Campos vs. Patricky Freire) were canceled, this time it will be Joe Taimanglo taking on Darrion Caldwell, this was originally the co-main event for the card before injuries caused changes to everything.
Taimanglo (23-6-1) defeated Caldwell by third round submission in their first encounter back at Bellator 159 earlier this year, but he missed weight for the fight by several pounds. Taimanglo will enter the fight riding a four fight winning streak, also defeating Michael Dante, Antonio Duarte and Sirwan Kakai. Taimanglo is also a former Pacific Xtreme Combat Bantamweight Champion, he defeated Harris Sarmiento by unanimous decision in 2011 to win the belt.
Caldwell (9-1-0) suffered the only defeat of his career when he submitted to Joe Taimanglo in their fight encounter earlier this year. Caldwell won a total of six fights in Bellator MMA before suffering the aforementioned defeat, one of his victories came over former featherweight and bantamweight champion Joe Warren at Bellator 151. Caldwell also competed in the Legacy Fighting Championships, which is where the first three fights of his career took place. Last week Caldwell told Fightful.com that he considered Taimanglo's win a "fluke."
Also, Emmanuel Sanchez is injured and out of his planned fight with AJ McKee. He's been replaced by Ray Wood (7-2) for Bellator 166 Friday.
Bellator 167 takes place on Saturday, December 3 from the Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma with Joe Taimanglo and Darrion Caldwell headlining.
