HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (June 10, 2010) – Pat Curran completed his unlikely Cinderella-story run through Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Lightweight Tournament on Thursday, scoring a split decision victory over MMA veteran and 2009 Submission of the Year titleholder Toby Imada to win the tournament championship.
Curran’s win headlined another great night of fights from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in South Florida, roughly 30 miles south of the high school that Curran represented in the state wrestling finals just four years ago.
On Thursday, with dozens of his friends and family looking on, the 22-year-old impressed the judges with an athletic takedown defense and a series of powerful blows to the head that opened two cuts around Imada’s right eye. With the win, Curran earned the Season 2 Championship and the right to fight reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion and 20-2 MMA star Eddie Alvarez.
Alvarez, who watched the fight cageside with his son, Eddie Jr., called Curran’s performance “tough” and “impressive.”
“The guy’s powerful and he hits hard,” Alvarez said as Curran (12-3) was presented with a check for $100,000. “I’m looking forward to fighting him.”
Curran, who was inspired to begin a career in MMA by his cousin, UFC, WEC and Strikeforce veteran Jeff Curran, said afterwards that Bellator “changed my life.” It was his third consecutive upset victory along with a quarterfinal KO of Georges St.-Pierre training partner Mike Ricci and a semifinal decision win against UFC veteran and early tournament favorite Roger Huerta.
“What Pat Curran accomplished tonight is exactly what Bellator is all about,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “He proved to himself and to the world that he deserves this championship and he deserves a fight with Eddie Alvarez thanks to three straight outstanding wins against three very tough opponents.”
Imada, who helped put Bellator on the map during its inaugural season with his now-famous inverted triangle choke submission of Jorge Masvidal, accepted the defeat graciously, congratulating Curran and saying “that’s what I get for leaving it up to the judges.”
The night also featured an impressive statement from Megumi Fujii, the consensus No. 1-ranked female fighter in the world, who improved her pro MMA record to an impressive 20-0 with a third round TKO of Missouri-based jiu-jitsu specialist Sarah Schneider in the evening’s “Female Showcase Fight.”
Schneider turned in a gutsy performance to survive the first two rounds but Fujii took the fight to the ground early on in Round 3, moved quickly to full mount and unleashed a rapid-fire ground-and-pound that forced the stoppage at 1:58. It was Fujii’s first-ever TKO and she admitted afterwards that she was “very surprised” not to have won via submission.
The win cemented Fujii’s position as the overwhelming favorite in Bellator’s upcoming Season 3 women’s tournament, despite the inclusion of a bevy of the world’s top 10 female fighters including 11-1 British tae-kwon-do black belt Rosi Sexton (the world’s No. 1-ranked 125 lbs. female), 12-5 Seattle submission artist Lisa Ward and 7-0 Southern California striker Jessica Pene.
“I will show my skills and I will be the champion,” Fujii told Bellator TV commentator Jimmy Smith after her fight, which also marked her first appearance on national television in the U.S.
In the evening’s first televised bout, a “Heavyweight Showcase Fight,” Seattle-area native Mike “300” Hayes (12-3-1) overcame a 30-pound weight disadvantage to win a unanimous decision victory over former Arena Football League player Steve Banks (4-3). The southpaw Banks used his size to claim the center of the cage and control the fight during Round 1, but he began showing signs of serious fatigue early on in Round 2. Hayes used his superior conditioning to control the fight the rest of the way and earn his fourth straight victory.
Later, in a “Bantamweight Feature Fight,” Philadelphia brawler Zack Makovsky (9-2) defeated local fan favorite and American Top Team product Eric Luke (4-3) with a crafty kimura submission at 4:28 into Round 2. With the win, Makovsky earned a spot in Bellator’s upcoming eight-man Season 3 Bantamweight Tournament.
The event also played host to four Local Feature Fights, a sampling of which will be aired at Bellator.com beginning this Sunday as part of Bellator’s ongoing “Sunday Night Fights” promotion. The results of the local fights were:
- Brian Eckstein def. Mitchell Chamale via unanimous decision
- Moyses Gabin def. Chris Boffil via rear-naked choke submission (4:41)
- Sabah Homasi def. Frank Carrillo via TKO (13:36)
- Luis Palomino def. Jose Figueroa via unanimous decision
Fans who missed Thursday night’s action can watch all the best moments this weekend during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2. Check your local listings for exact dates and times.
Bellator returns to action next Thursday night from the Kansas City Power & Light District, where former NCAA wrestling champion and U.S. Olympian Ben Askren faces MMA rising star Dan Hornbuckle in the championship round of Bellator’s Season 2 Welterweight Tournament.
For more information, visit www.Bellator.com follow us on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/BellatorMMA.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (May 21, 2010) — South Florida native and MMA rising star Pat Curran will return to fight in his home state for the first time next month since two upset victories in Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Lightweight Tournament catapulted him into the tournament’s championship round and national MMA stardom.
Curran, who grew up in Delray Beach and Boca Raton, will face off with MMA veteran and 2009 “Sumbission of the Year” title-holder Toby Imada during the Main Event fight when Bellator returns for the fourth time to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on June 10th. The winner will take home Bellator’s Season 2 155-lbs. Tournament title and will become the No.1 contender to reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez.
The much-anticipated Curran-Imada fight is just part of the eight-fight Bellator 21 card, which will also be televised LIVE on FOX Sports Net and during special taped highlight shows on NBC and Telemundo. Tickets are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster.com.
“We can’t wait to return to South Florida and bring our Lightweight Tournament Championship fight with us,” said Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebeney. “I am especially happy that Pat Curran will have a chance to fight in front of his hometown crowd. He has gone on a tremendous run in our Lightweight Tournament and has made a substantial name for himself in the world of MMA. His fight against Toby Imada, a crafty MMA veteran, is going to be a great fight to watch and a great Main Event at the Hard Rock.”
Curran, who now lives and trains outside of Chicago, was standout wrestler for Olympic Heights Community High School, finishing fourth at the state finals during his senior year. After graduating, he studied for and received his Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification in South Florida before being convinced by his older cousin, MMA legend Jeff “Big Frog” Curran, to move to Illinois to begin a career in MMA.
He took his first pro fight in February of 2008 and quickly compiled an impressive record of 9-3.
He made his Bellator debut in impressive and dramatic fashion on April 15th in Chicago with a first-round KO of Georges Saint-Pierre training partner Mike Ricci. Curran then followed that up with one of the biggest upsets of the year in all of MMA, a unanimous decision win over superstar Roger Huerta in Bellator’s Lightweight Tournament semifinal round Boston.
The wins have helped turn Curran into an overnight star.
Imada (25-12) is perhaps best known for the remarkable inverted triangle choke submission that he used to dispatch the heavily favored Jorge Masvidal during the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 1 Lightweight Tournament. The submission has now been viewed more than 700,000 times on YouTube and won Imada “Submission of the Year” honors from nearly every MMA media outlet. But the submission has also served to overshadow the magnitude of an impressive three-year run that has seen Imada win 11 of his last 12 pro fights including a Bellator quarterfinal submission of WEC veteran James Krause and a semifinal submission of up-and-comer Carey Vanier.
Details on the other seven fights will be released in the coming weeks.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow us on Twitter @BellatorMMA or become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/BellatorMMA.
The Bellator Fighting Championship founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney announced the matchups for Bellator XVII on Tuesday, with the focus of the event on lightweight fighters.
UFC veteran Roger Huerta (21-3-1) will face Pat Curran (10-3) in the lightweight semi-finals, joining them will be Toby Imada (24-13) and Carey Vanier (8-2) who face one another in the other semi-final bout. The finalist from each bout will move on to the finals in June with the winner earning the right to fight lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez later this year in a season-three title fight.
The event is set for May 6 at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theater in Boston and will air live on FOX Sports Net, with highlight packages airing the following Saturday on NBC, Telemundo and mun2.
Alvarez (19-2) will also appear on the Bellator XVII card, facing UFC vet Josh Neer (27-9-1) in a catchweight (160 pound) superfight in the main event.
Huerta moved into the semi-finals of the event after beating previously undefeated Chad Hinton at Bellator 13 in his promotional debut. The former UFC fighter had won eleven straight before two straight losses to Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard.
Curran has won two straight and four of his last fight bouts. An Xtreme Fighting Organization veteran, Curran made his Bellator debut at Bellator 14 earning a first-round knockout victory over another undefeated fighter Mike Ricci.
Main Card
- Eddie Alvarez vs. Josh Neer (non-title fight)
- Pat Curran vs. Roger Huerta (lightweight tourney semifinal)
- Toby Imada vs. Carey Vanier (lightweight tourney semifinal)
CHICAGO, Ill. (April 20, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney announced today that Roger Huerta will face rising star Pat Curran while “Submission of the Year” title holder Toby Imada will face Carey Vanier at Bellator’s May 6th event at the Wang Theatre in Boston.
The two fights comprise the semifinal round of Bellator’s ongoing Season 2 lightweight (155 lbs.) tournament. The winners of each fight will face each other in the Season 2 finals in June with the winner of that fight earning the right to face Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez in a title bout.
Rebney made the announcement today at an afternoon press conference at the Wang Theatre, where he was joined by Curran and Alvarez, whose much-anticipated Bellator Super Fight with former UFC contender Josh Neer headlines the May 6th Boston card.
“As a fan, I can’t wait for our May 6th show in Boston,” Rebney said. “Alvarez vs. Neer should be explosive, with Eddie making his first appearance in the U.S. since he won our lightweight title last summer. Huerta vs. Curran just got really interesting coming off of Pat’s one punch KO of previously undefeated Mike Ricci. Toby’s world class submission wrestling vs. Carey’s world class wresting should be a great fight as well.”
Alvarez’s Super Fight against. Neer could not come at a better time for the Bellator champion. Just two weeks ago, Alvarez (19-2) was the consensus No. 3 lightweight in the world behind B.J. Penn and Shinya Aoki. With Penn and Aoki both losing over the last week, Alvarez has an opportunity on national television to establish himself as the world’s top-ranked lightweight. First, though, Alvarez has to get past powerful UFC veteran Neer with his 27-9-1 career record and KO power in both hands.
Huerta (21-3-1) is a former UFC lightweight contender who is the only MMA fighter in history to be pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He signed a long-term contract with Bellator this winter and won his first fight via third round kneebar submission versus the previously undefeated Chad Hinton on April 8th at Bellator 13.
Curran (10-3) is the cousin of MMA pioneer Jeff Curran. He burst onto the national MMA scene at Bellator 14 last Thursday with a spectacular KO of the previously undefeated Mike Ricci that soon became Bellator’s latest “YouTube moment.” In just five days, the clip has already been viewed online more than 65,000 times.
Imada (24-13) is a longtime MMA veteran who gained the most notoriety of his career thanks to his stunning inverted triangle choke submission of Jorge Masvidal at Bellator 5 last spring. Though he fell to Eddie Alvarez in the Bellator Season 1 lightweight finals, he made an auspicious return to the Season 2 with a dominant performance over WEC veteran James Krause at Bellator 14.
Vanier (8-2) is a former all-American wrestler at Minnesota’s Augsburg College (also Huerta’s alma mater) who made an impressive Bellator debut at Bellator 13 with a TKO of MMA veteran Joe Duarte.
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator. For tickets, go to Ticketmaster.com.
CHICAGO, Ill. (April 16, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney said today that he will reveal the semifinal-round matchups for Bellator’s ongoing lightweight tournament during a press conference on Tuesday April 20th at the Wang Theatre in Boston.
The press conference is at 12 pm ET in the Grand Lobby of the Wang Theatre and is open to the public.
Both of the tournament’s semifinal bouts will take place during Bellator’s May 6th event at the Wang Theatre. The four fighters who advanced to the semifinal round are former UFC superstar Roger Huerta, former all-American wrestler Carey Vanier, MMA veteran and “Submission of the Year” tile-holder Toby Imada and emerging star Pat Curran, whose spectacular KO of Mike Ricci at Bellator 14 on Thursday has become Bellator’s latest “YouTube moment.”
Curran (added today) and Huerta will join Rebney at Tuesday’s press conference along with reigning Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, who is gearing up for his May 6th Wang Theatre Super Fight with former UFC contender Josh Neer.
All members of the media and all fans are invited to attend.
“There has already been a lot of speculation as to who’s facing who in the semifinals of our 155 tournament,” Rebney said. “I can say now that everyone will find out for sure at our press conference in Boston on Tuesday. This will also be a great opportunity for the media and our fans to meet Roger, Pat and Eddie and to find out their thoughts leading up to their fights on May 6th. It’s going to be a great night in Boston.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Bellator. For tickets, go to www.CitiCenter.org/Bellator.
Just in case any of you missed it, Pat Curran (cousin to WEC vet, Jeff) recently tucked in the previously undefeated Mike Ricci (GSP training partner) in one of the most brutal knockouts of the year to advance in the Bellator lightweight tournament.
Thanks to the guys at Bellator, you can watch the KO over, and over, and over in the media player below… enjoy:
Bellator Fighting Championship has uploaded their “Knockout of the Night” honors from Thursday’s Bellator IV on Youtube. The event took place at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Ill. with all four tournament bouts airing on FOX Sports Net.
Pat Curran battled Mike Ricci in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Lightweight Tournament. The contest ended with a stunning right hook to the head that sent Ricci crashing to the canvas unconscious as Curran advanced in the tournament.
Watch other Bellator bouts from Bellator 13 by visiting their YouTube page.
As Bellator Fighting Championships did with this past week's season debut and all season one, highlights from each event are being showcased on its popular YouTube channel.
This week the organization had made available Bellator 14's opening-round lightweight tournament fight between Pat Curran and Mike Ricci.
Check out the video of the fight, which took place Thursday at the Chicago Theatre in Illinois, after the jump.
CHICAGO, Ill. (April 15, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships produced yet another stunning “YouTube moment” on Thursday as local fan-favorite Pat Curran added to his family’s MMA legacy with a spectacular KO of Mike Ricci during Bellator 14 at the historic Chicago Theatre.
The fight got the highly anticipated event off to roaring start and the momentum continued throughout the night with three other compelling nationally-televised tournament fights. Also emerging victorious were former NCAA wrestling champion and U.S. Olympian Ben Askren, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Wilson Reis and “Submission of the Year” title holder Toby Imada.
The Curran-Ricci fight, though, provided the most fireworks of the night.
At 3:01 into the first round, Curran (10-3) socked Ricci with a brutal overhand right, dropping him to the mat and rendering him unconscious. It was the first loss in six pro fights for Ricci, the protégé and longtime training partner of Georges Saint-Pierre.
“I saw the opening, threw a big right hand and it landed and he crumpled,” Curran said during the post-fight press conference. “This is definitely the biggest win I’ve ever had. I’m just proud to be a part of Bellator and to move on in the tournament.”
The KO victory advanced Curran, the cousin and student of MMA pioneer Jeff Curran, into the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 2 lightweight tournament along with Imada and Belaltor 13 winners Roger Huerta and Carey Vanier.
Semifinal pairings will be announced next week.
Later on in the night, Askren made an impressive (and somewhat controversial) Bellator debut, using a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu anaconda choke to finish former UFC contender Ryan “The Tank Engine” Thomas (10-4) via technical submission at 2:40 into Round 1.
Controversy erupted almost immediately after the stoppage, though, as Thomas, his corner and a vocal fan contingent in the theatre’s balcony protested that he gave no indication that he wanted the fight to be stopped.
“It’s a bad call by the referee,” Thomas said afterwards. “It’s just a shame that the fans got cheated and Ben got cheated out of some more cage time. I was fine – it wasn’t like the world was closing in on me. I was totally fine.”
Askren, for his part, called on Thomas to “accept the result of the fight graciously.”
“When I was in the cage, I didn’t know what happened,” said Askren, who improved his pro record to 4-0 and advanced to the semifinals of Bellator’s Season 2 welterweight tournament. “But after watching it, it sure looked like it was over.”
Thomas said his camp plans to lodge a formal complaint in order to have the result overturned.
In the second fight of the night, Reis, a crafty Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, was able to overcome an aggressive challenge from former New York University wrestling standout Shad Lierley (5-3).
The fight got off to an explosive start during Round 1, with each fighter landing a variety of kicks and blows to the head. It went to the ground during the second and third rounds with Reis’ eventually gaining the upper hand and locking Lierley into a rear naked choke 3:33 into Round 3.
“I knew I was going to fight Shad and I knew that I had to work on my wrestling,” said Reis, who improved his pro record to 10-1. “It was a good fight and I was very happy to win.”
Reis joins Bellator 13 winners Georgi Karakhanyan and Joe Warren in the semifinal round of Bellator’s Season 2 featherweight tournament.
In the final tournament fight of the evening, Imada (25-14) easily handled WEC veteran James Krause (11-3), submitting him via arm bar at 2:44 into Round 1.
The evening also featured four Local Featured Fights. The results of those fights are as follows:
Bout #1: Louis Taylor (6-1) of Chicago def. Ryan Sturdy (12-5-1) of Crystal Lake, Ill. (TKO 1:08)
Bout #7: Felice Herrig (3-2) of Buffalo Grove, Ill., def. Jessica Rakoczy (0-2) of Las Vegas, Nev., (split decision)
Bout #8: Bryan Goldsby (16-6) of Macon, Ga., def. Jeff Curran (32-13-1) of Crystal Lake, Ill., (unanimous decision)
Fans who missed the action during Bellator’s live nationwide broadcast on FOX Sports Net canAKREN watch all the action during special highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and mun2 this weekend. Check your local listings for exact times and dates.
Bellator Fighting Championship held the second event of season two this past evening at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Ill. Bellator IV saw four quarterfinal bouts in three weight divisions taking place on the FOX Sports Net channel.
Making their way into the semifinals of their respective tournaments were Ben Askren, Wilson Reis, Pat Curran and Toby Imada. Also of note, a preliminary-card bout between Jonatas Novaes and Daniel Straus was pulled from the card after Novaes was unable to compete due to an undisclosed illness.
- Toby Imada def. James Krause via submission (armbar) – R2, 2:44 (lightweight tourney first round)
- Ben Askren def. Ryan Thomas via submission (anaconda choke) – R1, 2:40 (welterweight tourney first round)
- Wilson Reis def. Shad Lierley via submission (rear-naked choke) – R3, 3:33 (featherweight tourney first round)
- Pat Curran def. Mike Ricci via knockout (strikes) – R1, 3:01 (lightweight tourney first round)
- Bryan Goldsby def. Jeff Curran via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Felice Herrig def. Jessica Rakoczy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Louis Taylor def. Ryan Sturdy via TKO (strikes) – R1, 1:08
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (June 10, 2010) – Pat Curran completed his unlikely Cinderella-story run through Bellator Fighting Championships’ Season 2 Lightweight Tournament on Thursday, scoring a split decision victory over MMA veteran and 2009 Submission of the Year titleholder Toby Imada to win the tournament championship.
As Bellator Fighting Championships did with this past week's season debut and all season one, highlights from each event are being showcased on its popular YouTube channel.