Joe Taimanglo, former Bellator MMA fighter, released from prison
Joe Taimanglo, a 40-year-old professional mixed martial artist from Guam who was facing criminal charges in multiple cases, has been released from prison.
On Monday morning in the Superior Court of Guam, Magistrate Judge Benjamin Sison Jr. released Joseph “Baby Joe” Taimanglo from prison on $2,500 cash bail.
Taimanglo was released in the case in which he and his brother, Kelly Taimanglo, were accused of assaulting a woman known to them and threatening to kill a man who owed the brothers money in January 2022.
Court records show that on Jan. 26, 2022, a man told Guam police the pair threatened him on Jan. 26 claiming he owed them $10,000 because the victim was responsible for the loss of the merchandise from Kelly Taimanglo’s company, Sokell Industries.
The victim allegedly told police he was never involved in their business.
Taimanglo allegedly threatened the man, telling him that if he did not pay up that he “would come back and take care of him.”
On Feb. 6, officers responded to a separate call in Santa Rita after a woman alleged she was attacked by both men for three hours, as they prevented her from leaving the residence.
It wasn’t until April 30 that authorities went to an apartment in Tamuning to speak with Kelly Taimanglo, the complaint filed by the prosecution states.
Taimanglo was already on pretrial release for a 2020 in an illegal guns and weapons possession case at the time of this incident.
The former fighter’s mother paid the bail on the most recent charge, but Judge Sison has mandated that Taimanglo live with his mother who needs medical care as a condition of the release.
Taimanglo has a pro MMA record of 24-9-1 and last competed in 2018. He fought 11 times for Bellator MMA between 2013 and 2018 included a split decision win over former champion Joe Warren and a submission win over former champion Darrion Caldwell.