JUGGERNAUT HEADING HOME

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By Michael Cruz

Baby Joe Taimanglo drops a unanimous decision in Bellator’s featherweight tournament in Kansas. (photo courtesy BJT)

Baby Joe Taimanglo will return home after a very busy 2013. Baby Joe broke into the national scene on March 28, 2013 with a submission over Ronnie Rogers at Bellator 94. The impressive performance earned him a spot in Bellator’s Featherweight Tournament.

The Juggernaut faced England’s Andrew Fisher in the first round on September 13, 2013. He came up with a decisive unanimous decision over Andrew Fisher at Bellator 99 and dominated with his striking.

Only 28 days later he found himself back in the cage against Justin Wilcox at Bellator 103 in the semifinals as the co-main event. He made the trip with corner man AJ Matthews to Kansas.

Taimanglo and Wilcox are both class acts and each shared their strong faith in their segment videos before the fight. Baby Joe did his best to establish his boxing in the first round.

During the first round he broke his right hand. Without his power punch it was difficult to keep the hard charging wrestler Wilcox off. Wilcox got his first takedown of the fight. Baby Joe was able to escape and end the round with a right hook.

The second round was Taimanglo’s best round despite the broken hand. He landed punches and avoided a takedown. He switched to southpaw and landed two straight lefts. Wilcox endured it and got a single leg takedown. Despite the takedown and nearly have his back taken, Baby Joe escaped and boxed. Wilcox though didn’t give him any space and got another takedown. The final round was tough as Baby Joe had to fight off an arm triangle choke and being fully mounted.

In the end, Wilcox won the decision and Baby Joe gained some valuable experience against his toughest opponent to date.

BJT broke his power hand in the first round after punching the head of his opponent. He valiantly fought on. (photo courtesy BJT)

Baby Joe Taimanglo has made the island of Guam proud. His career has been about taking chances. He was one the first fighters from Guam to fight off island. He took advantage of his opportunities with Bellator and came within one fight of the finals. Bellator is definitely interested in keeping him around for more fights. For now, Baby Joe “The Juggernaut” Taimanglo congratulations for what you’ve done for your career so far. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videointerview/Joe-Taimanglo-Bellator-103-PostFight-Interview-5175

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