Darrion Caldwell Is An Epic Fail Celebrating At ‘Bellator 143: Warren Vs. Davis’ — MMA Fighter Back Flips Off Cage Into Camerawoman
In the combat sport of MMA, fighters are well-aware of the dangers that come with participation. Blood is spilled, injuries are sustained, bones are broken, and careers are ended. This could happen in any fight scenario, including a clean fight like when Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald fought at UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor. Both participants almost went coast-to-coast in one of the most violent fights seen in UFC in a long time. The aforementioned issues can also happen as “freak accidents,” as seen in the fight Marcin Tybura and Ante Delija had at M-1 Challenge 61. Delija’s right leg will never be the same again.
However, there are times when injuries in MMA happen not during actual combat, but by recklessness some fighters may show at times. That is the case for Darrion Caldwell who celebrated his recent MMA win by doing a back flip off the cage. Unfortunately, he had no sense of direction as he crashed into a camerawoman.
The incident happened on Friday, September 25, 2015 at Bellator 143: Warren vs. Davis. According to SB Nation, Darrion Caldwell took on Shawn Bunch in the bantamweight division during the preliminaries. It was a dominant performance for Caldwell as he submitted Bunch 2.35 in the first round with a rear-naked choke. Apparently, Caldwell was so ecstatic for his performance that he wanted to go above-and-beyond in celebrating by doing a back flip off the cage. Problem is Caldwell failed to check where he would be landing in which he crashed into a camerawoman trying to record his revelry.
Fortunately, both Darrion Caldwell and the camerawoman, named Dawn, survived without major injury. Bellator MMA made sure to capture the exchange when Caldwell apologized to Dawn for landing on top of her.
It’s okay everyone, Dawn’s alright! #Bellator143 @thewolf_mma pic.twitter.com/hpKirfROyp
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) September 25, 2015
It should be known that MMA fighters climbing on top of the cage is quite a common occurrence, as reported by Fan Sided. Cris Cyborg did it during a premature celebration when she thought she beat Shayna Baszler. Jose Aldo did it to rush the stands. And Conor McGregor has done it multiple times in which his two most memorable displays is when he shot over the cage to confront Aldo and when he sat alongside his coach after winning at UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor.
Nevertheless, it seems the incident pertaining to Darrion Caldwell’s backflip was simply over-ambitious revelry resulting in an accident. No follow-up news has released regarding a limit on how much an MMA fighter can celebrate or if Caldwell will be punished in any way.
[Photo courtesy of Bellator 143: Warren vs. Davis Post-Fight Promotions]
