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    Mark Palmer •

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    Ex-wrestlers Caldwell, Warren winners at Bellator 143

    In a battle of former college wrestlers, Darrion Caldwell defeated Shawn Bunch by submission, while former University of Michigan standout Joe Warren earned a unanimous decision over L.C. Davis in the headline event at Bellator 143 at State Farm Arena in Hildago, Texas Friday night.

    Darrion Caldwell (Photo/Bellator)
    Former North Carolina State University champ Caldwell - who won the 149-pound title at the 2009 NCAA Division I wrestling championships by upsetting defending titleholder Brent Metcalf of the University of Iowa -- used a rear-naked choke at 2:35 of the first round of his three-round preliminary match with four-time Edinboro EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) mat champ Bunch. According to Sherdog.com's play-by-play, Bunch tried to roll out of Caldwell's submission hold, but had nowhere to go and was forced to tap out.

    It was what happened after the match that garnered some considerable press coverage - accompanied by video clips -- at non-mixed martial arts websites. To celebrate his win, Caldwell climbed to the top of the cage. He attempted a backflip, but, to quote CBSLocal.com, "totally wipes out the cameraperson, who happens to be female. But she was a trooper and was able to capture Caldwell nearly taking her head off. Fortunately, she was OK afterwards and Caldwell apologized."

    Caldwell remains undefeated at 8-0 overall, and 5-0 in Bellator Fighting Championships bouts, while Bunch is now 4-2 overall and in Bellator.

    Here's how Brian Knapp of Sherdog.com opened his write-up of the top-of-the-card event featuring the former Greco-Roman world champion and 2000 NCAA All-American for the Wolverines: "Former two-division Bellator MMA champion Joe Warren did what he does best, and L.C. Davis, like plenty of others before him, was powerless to do anything about it. Repeated takedowns, mild but effective ground-and-pound and the ever-present threat of a guard pass carried Warren to a unanimous decision over Davis…"

    All three judges score the three-round bout 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for Warren, who is now 13-4 in his MMA career, and 11-3 in Bellator , and has compiled six victories in his last seven outings. Davis is now 23-7 overall, and 3-1 in Bellator.
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