NCAA Wrestling Champion Darrion Caldwell Signs with Legacy FC, Joins Arizona’s Power MMA

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Another decorated collegiate wrestler has thrown his hat into the cage.

Texas-based organization Legacy Fighting Championship on Monday announced the signing of Darrion Caldwell, a 2009 NCAA Division I wrestling champion and two-time All-American from North Carolina State University.

A New Jersey native, 24-year-old Caldwell will soon relocate to Arizona, where he’ll train at Gilbert, Ariz.’s Power MMA and Fitness. The Power MMA Team is home to a number of former NCAA All-Americans who have made successful transitions to MMA, including co-founders Ryan Bader, Aaron Simpson and C.B. Dollaway.

Caldwell is expected to compete at featherweight in MMA, having won his national title at 149 pounds. His championship junior season at NC State saw him amass a 29-match winning streak and included victories over current Team Alpha Male prospect Lance Palmer and Dan Hodge Trophy winner Brent Metcalf. Caldwell did not compete in his senior year after undergoing shoulder surgery, an injury which also kept him out of a rematch with Metcalf in May 2010.

No date has been set for Caldwell’s MMA debut, which Monday’s Legacy FC release states will come “in the near future.”