Bellator MMA presents another big card this week as Darrion Caldwell and A.J. McKee do battle for the right to become the first name locked into the finals of the company's Featherweight Grand Prix tournament.
The 32-year-old Caldwell entered the tournament in his full-time step up to featherweight from bantamweight, a division at which he held Bellator's title until the second of two consecutive defeats to Kyoji Horiguchi ended his reign.
Caldwell got back to winning ways with opening round and quarter-final victories over Henry Corrales and Adam Borics, respectively, and after almost a year out of action thanks in no small part to COVID-19, he returns to the cage one win away from a place in the final.
Standing in his way is the undefeated 25-year-old McKee, who has been out slightly longer than Caldwell, with his quarter-final success over Derek Campos taking place on Dec. 21, 2019. McKee halted Georgi Karakhanyan in Round 1 of their first-rounder last September.
The winner of this semi-final will face off with the winner of semi No. 2 between current featherweight and lightweight champion Patricio "Pitbull" Freire and Emmanuel Sanchez.
Bellator 253: Darrion Caldwell vs. A.J. McKee fight date, start time
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 19
- Prelims: 4:15 p.m. ET
- Main card: 7 p.m. ET
Bellator 253 TV channel, live stream
In the United States, the Bellator 253 prelims and main card are available on DAZN. The main card is also available on CBS Sports Network.
In Canada, Bellator 253 is available on DAZN.
In Germany, the Bellator 253 main card (1 a.m. CET) is available on DAZN.
Find out more about how to watch on DAZN by clicking here.
Where is Bellator 253 taking place?
Bellator will once again be staging a show out of the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, with COVID-19 guidelines meaning tickets will not be on sale.Darrion Caldwell record and bio
- Nationality: American
- Born: New Jersey
- Height: 5'10"
- Reach: 74"
- Total fights: 18
- Record: 15-3, 2 KOs, 6 submissions
A.J. McKee record and bio
- Nationality: American
- Born: California
- Height: 5'10"
- Reach: 73 1/2"
- Total fights: 16
- Record: 16-0, 6 KOs, 5 submissions
Bellator 253 full card
Main card
- Featherweight World Grand Prix Semi-final Main Event: Darrion Caldwell (15-3) vs. A.J. McKee (16-0)
- Welterweight Co-Main Event: Benson Handerson (28-9) vs. Jason Jackson (12-4)
- Welterweight Bout: Joey Davis (7-0) vs. Bobby Lee (12-4)
- Bantamweight Bout: Raufeon Stots (14-1) vs. Keith Lee (7-3)
Preliminary fights
- Featherweight Bout: Jeremy Kennedy (15-2, 1 NC) vs. Matt Bessette (24-9, 1 NC)
- Welterweight Bout: Jaleel Willis (13-2) vs. Mark Lemminger (11-2)
- Featherweight Bout: Jay-Jay Wilson (6-0) vs. Sergio de Bari (5-1)
- Lightweight Bout: Baby Slice (3-2, 1 NC) vs. Kaheem Murray (3-3)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Sullivan Cauley (Pro Debut) vs. Mark Glover (Pro Debut)