SAITAMA, JAPAN - DECEMBER 31: Darrion Caldwell of United States enters the ring prior to the bout between Kyoji Horiguchi of Japan and Darrion Caldwell of Unites Stateys during the RIZIN. 14 at Saitama Super Arena on December 31, 2018 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

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Ahead of his bout with Adam Borics at Bellator 238, Darrion Caldwell shared with FanSided his thoughts about the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix.

The Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix has had its fair share of drama. Former Bellator bantamweight champion and current Grand Prix quarterfinalist Darrion Caldwell has no problem living at the center of much of that drama.

In September 2019 at Bellator 228, Caldwell dispatched his first-round Grand Prix opponent Henry Corrales in a lopsided decision. Two fights later, current champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire successfully defended his title, also advancing to the next round. Moments after that fight, Caldwell shouted at Freire from just outside the cage, challenging the champion to face him in the next round of the tournament.

Less than an hour later, during the Selection Show, Freire was given his choice of opponents and opted to face Pedro Carvalho in the next round, placing himself on the opposite side of the bracket of Caldwell.

This was something Caldwell didn’t expect.

“I was surprised for sure, especially because we had prior history,” Caldwell told FanSided about Freire’s choice of opponent. “So I figured he’d want to fight me. We had an exchange of words just thirty minutes prior.”

Now months later, Caldwell doesn’t want to dwell on the champion’s choice. That’s the beauty of the tournament; as long as both Caldwell and Freire keep winning, they’ll face each other.

For his part, Caldwell is naturally confident he can fight his way to a shot at Freire.

“The good thing is that I get to go out there and do what I do. I’m excited. I’m excited to have the lineup that I got. I think it’s perfect. It’ll put me back to where I should be.”

“It was smart for him,” said Caldwell, returning to Freire’s decision to not fight him. “Anyway, there’s a bunch of killers in this division and there’s no easy fight. Eventually, I’ll get my hands on him and that’s what’s up.”

As for Freire making his way past Carvalho and through the semifinals to a potential showdown with Caldwell?

“I think Pitbull will win. We’ll have our chance to fight.”

First, Caldwell will need to defeat the undefeated Adam Borics, who he faces on Jan. 25 at Bellator 238. Borics has been generally respectful toward Caldwell, but also critiqued Caldwell’s performance against Corrales, calling it “boring” in the post-fight press conference.

Caldwell isn’t bothered.

“We’ll see how boring I am, you know? We’ll see how boring it’s going to be,” he said. “Not every fight is going to be an electric fight, but we’ll see how boring it is when [Borics] is in the cage with me.”

Caldwell is unabashedly (and even refreshingly) blunt when responding to critics like Borics or fans that rained down boos during his wrestling-heavy domination of Corrales. To that end, Caldwell has developed into a bit of a “heel,” a bad guy of sorts that fans love to hate.

At certain points, Caldwell has seemed to relish this role, maybe even enjoying the negative fan reaction he can elicit. But, Caldwell says, that’s just him being him. He’s not forcing a character, just acting and reacting in a way that comes naturally.

“I’m just going off my instincts and how I feel. If you’re not siding with me then f*** you, you know? If you ride with me, let’s ride. Regardless of how the fight went.”

Bellator 238 takes place on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2019, live from The Forum in Inglewood, CA. Follow along with FanSided MMA, who will be on-site for the whole week, for all your live results and highlights.