Darrion Caldwell wrestled 149lbs during its golden age. His 2008 NCAA bracket is widely regarded as the toughest bracket in history. As a result of being so good during such a stacked era, Caldwell registered quite a few excellent wins in a relatively short amount of time.

Watch Darrion Caldwell vs Luke Pletcher LIVE on FloWrestling

Saturday, July 25, 2020 | 8:00 PM EST

Caldwell went to NC State as a recruit with a lot of promise. Being a three-time New Jersey state champ comes with high expectations, and Caldwell lived up to those.

As part of the Wolfpack, Caldwell was a two-time All-American and an NCAA champion. His first All-American honor in 2008 came in the aforementioned toughest bracket of all time, and his NCAA title over Brent Metcalf remains among the most memorable moments in NCAA tournament history.

In college, Caldwell competed briefly in senior level freestyle, making a US National team in his first attempt. The end of his competitive wrestling career was riddled with injuries, but The Wolf moved on to MMA where he has been a Bellator belt holder with impressive results.

Throughout his career, Caldwell has continued to add impressive names to his hit list. Check out this list of NCAA champions, US World Team Members, and All-Americans:

NCAA Champions

• J.P. O'Connor
• Dustin Schlatter
• Brent Metcalf
• Doug Schwab

US World Team Members/Olympians

• Dustin Schlatter
• Bryce Saddoris
• Brent Metcalf
• Doug Schwab
• Shawn Bunch
• Joe Warren (2006 World Champ)

NCAA All-Americans

• Josh Churella
• J.P. O'Connor
• Dustin Schlatter
• Lance Palmer
• Bryce Sadoris
• Jake Patacsil
• Brent Metcalf
• Doug Schwab
• Brian Stith
• Jamal Parks
• Derek Valenti
• Shawn Bunch
• Joe Warren

Now let's examine some notable moments from Darrion Caldwell's career.

2006-2007 Season

As a three-time state champ from New Jersey, Darrion Caldwell was a coveted recruit, and he shined brightly for NC State right away. He did not achieve All-American honors as a freshman, but he was very clearly on his way.

Caldwell fell in the NCAA quarterfinal to eventual finalist Ryan Lang is an insane match and then lost to J Jaggers in the round of 12.

2007-2008 Season

This was the season of the deepest 149 field in history. Caldwell announced himself as a contender by pinning eventual NCAA champ Brent Metcalf in a spladle early in the year and then followed up on that feat with impressive results at the 2007 CKLV Invitational. He advanced to the semifinals where he majored three-time All-American Josh Churella of Michigan 12-3. In the finals, he beat eventual NCAA champion J.P. O'Connor of Harvard 9-5.

At that season's NCAA Championships, Caldwell beat Dustin Schlatter 4-1 in the quarterfinals before dropping consecutive matches to Bubba Jenkins and Josh Churella. Caldwell finished those championships with another win over J.P. O'Connor to earn fifth.

2008-2009 Season

As a junior, Caldwell continued to pick up impressive wins. He knocked beat two-time All-American Kyle Ruschell early that season, pinned four-time Ohio State All-American Lance Palmer at CKLV, and pinned two-time All-American and two-time US Greco Roman World Team Member Bryce Saddoris at the Southern Scuffle. Caldwell's NCAA finals run included wins over All-Americans Bryce Saddoris and Jake Patacsil (Purdue).

Despite these wins and his All-American honor as a sophomore, few gave Caldwell, or anyone for that matter, much of a chance against 2008 NCAA champ Brent Metcalf. In a group of killers, Metcalf had separated himself from the rest. He was the Hodge Trophy winner, and the 2008-09 runaway favorite.

Caldwell and Metcalf had met twice previously in their careers. Caldwell pinned Metcalf in a spladle in 2007, but Metcalf had teched Caldwell at the NWCA All-Star Classic earlier that season.

Metcalf had a way of intimidating opponents, but Caldwell remained confident, reportedly telling teammates all week that he would headlock Metcalf. He did that and more en route to his 11-6 win over the two-time NCAA champ, two-time Hodge Trophy winner, and four-time US World Team Member.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

2009 US Open

After Caldwell's impressive performance at the NCAA Championships, the USA Wrestling coaching staff invited him to compete at the US Open. Caldwell took them up on the invitation despite his very limited freestyle experience.

Caldwell found himself at a brutal 66kg bracket. His first-round match was against Doug Schwab, an Olympian, US World Team Member, NCAA champion, and three-time All-American. Caldwell won that match. At the Open, he also beat NCAA finalist and two-time All-American Brian Stith as well as former foe Josh Churella. Caldwell's performance earned him a spot on the US National Team.

2009-2010 Season (Redshirted)

Injury and surgery prevented Caldwell from competing the following season, and when he finally did return for the 2010-2011 season, he was clearly not the same guy.

2010-2011 Season

Caldwell returned to the mat for his final season, but not until the second half of the year. He had an impressive record and did beat a couple of All-Americans in Oklahoma State's Jamal Parks and Derek Valenti of Virginia.

Unfortunately, Caldwell's shoulder didn't hold up at the end of the year, and he ultimately had to injury default out of the NCAA Championships.

MMA Hitlist

Caldwell's MMA career has been excellent, but for the purposes of this project, consider the two most accomplished wrestlers he's defeated.

In September of 2015, Caldwell submitted former World Team Member and two-time All-American Shawn Bunch at Bellator 143, and in March of 2016, he submitted 2006 Greco World Champ and NCAA All-American Joe Warren at Bellator 151.

On July 25, he'll have the opportunity to add another name to his hit list when he takes on Luke Pletcher, three-time NCAA All-American and the #1 seed at 141 in 2020. Pletcher has wrestled more recently than Caldwell, but Caldwell's resume proves just how dangerous he is.