Bellator 167 was headlined by a bantamweight fight pitting Darrion Caldwell against Joe Taimanglo. Caldwell and Taimanglo previously met in a catchweight bout at Bellator 159. Caldwell did well in the first two rounds, but was caught with a fight-ending guillotine choke nine seconds into the third round. The defeat was the first loss of Caldwell’s career and Caldwell was a 14-1 favorite entering the bout, making the upset the fourth biggest in MMA history. Taimanglo was riding a four-fight winning streak into the rematch. Caldwell came into the first bout with Taimanglo off a career-best win over Joe Warren at Bellator 151. A featherweight bout between Pat Curran and John Teixeira was also scheduled for this card. However, the fight was cancelled in early November due to an injury sustained by Curran. Teixeira instead faced Justin Lawrence.