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Daniel Weichel figured he’d be fighting Pat Curran after winning the Bellator season 10 featherweight tournament last May. Of course, he also figured Curran would be the champion when the fight went down.

That no longer is the case. Curran lost the belt to Patricio Freire last September and Weichel’s tournament victory didn’t guarantee him a title shot since Bellator has a new regime, led by president Scott Coker.

Still, Weichel is happy with the opportunity he is getting against Curran at Bellator 133 on Friday night in Fresno, Calif. This is by far the biggest fight of his busy 13-year career.

“I’m very happy that I’m fighting Pat Curran, because he achieved so much in Bellator and has a very good reputation,” Weichel told MMAFighting.com. “I respect him for that a lot. My overall goal is to get the belt and for that goal I have to beat the best fighters in the world. And that is Pat at the moment.”

Weichel (34-8), who hails from Germany, has been quite the workhouse in his career and has earned victories over the likes of UFC veteran Dennis Siver and former Bellator tournament winner Frodo Khasbulaev. He has also faced names like Dan Hardy, Paul Daley and Thiago Tavares.

Most of those bouts came in his younger days. For the last six years or so, Weichel has transitioned from a guy willing to fight whenever and wherever regardless of purse to someone who viewed MMA more like a career. The turning point was signing with manager/trainer Niels Schlaegel and MMA Spirit in Frankfurt.

“Before I always loved the sport,” Weichel said. “I just wanted to fight no matter who it is, no matter when it is, no matter how much I get paid. Now, I feel I know what it is to be a professional mixed martial artist. You have to train like that. You have to carry yourself like that. This is an important thing. If you have no professional surroundings, no professional team, sooner or later you will stop winning. You won’t get to where you want to go.”

Though he has two careers worth of fights on his record, Weichel is still only 30 years old. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist has won six in a row, including five by submission. In his native Germany, the ground game is not understood as well as striking is, but Weichel might be the guy to change that. Now with Bellator and closing in on a title shot, “The Weasel” is starting to receive some attention in his home country, which has a burgeoning MMA scene.

“They’re starting to get interested,” said Weichel, who finished Desmond Green via rear-naked choke in the tourney finals at Bellator 119 on May 9. “It’s a good thing to inspire people to start the sport.”

He has a chance to do plenty of that Friday. Curran is a two-time Bellator featherweight champion. Though coming off a loss to Freire, Curran is still regarded as one of the top 145-pound fighters on the planet. Coker has already said Georgi Karakhanyan, who is coming off an impressive first-round submission win over Bubba Jenkins last month, will get the next title shot. But Weichel would put himself in that conversation if he beats Curran.

“I don’t know if I can change his mind, but I definitely can make an impression and prove my value for the company,” Weichel said. “I want to go there and fight in exciting fashion, and I want to win in exciting fashion. I come there to finish the fight, and I want to give a war that people remember and then remember me.”

Cris Cyborg must pass a random drug test before being allowed to compete at Invicta FC 11.

California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster told MMAFighting.com that Cris “Cyborg” Justino was given a urine test Thursday morning as part of her process to get licensed to compete in the state. Foster expects the results to come back on or around Feb. 24. Justino’s main event bout against Charmaine Tweet is scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Justino, 29, has already tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs once in California, after a Strikeforce bout in 2011, which is why she needs to reapply for a license. Justino’s urine will be run through every panel, including for recreational drugs. Because this is a condition of licensure, “Cyborg” will need to be clear of everything.

“She will not be licensed until she satisfies our drug-testing and medical requirements,” Foster said.

Justino (12-1, 1 NC) is regarded as one of the best women’s fighters in the world. She is currently in negotiations with the UFC, which could lead to a much-anticipated showdown with UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The two have gone back and forth in interviews and on social media for years with Rousey’s biggest gripe being Justino’s performance-enhancing drug past.

“Cyborg,” the current Invicta women’s featherweight champion and former Strikeforce women’s featherweight titleholder, had her 16-second TKO win over Hiroko Yamanaka overturned into a no contest when she tested positive for anabolic steroid stanozolol at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal on Dec. 17, 2011. Justino was also stripped for her belt at that point.

Justino has fought in MMA just twice since then, beating Fiona Muxlow and Marloes Coenen, each via TKO, in Invicta. Overall, “Cyborg” has not lost since her MMA debut in 2005 in her native Brazil.

Rousey competes one day after Justino-Tweet bout against Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Feb. 28, also in Los Angeles. As MMAFighting.com reported Wednesday, Rousey and Zingano also have each undergone a random, out-of-competition drug test this week.

Additional reporting by Ariel Helwani

It has been 15 months since Brandon Thatch last stepped into the Octagon. The rising welterweight didn’t want to wait even a second longer.

When Stephen Thompson went down with an injury two weeks ago, Thatch feared that his return would be upended for a second time.

“I would have fought my mother at that point,” Thatch told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “It didn’t matter who. I just needed a fight.”

He got his wish. Thatch will meet former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 60 on Saturday night in Broomfield, Colo. Henderson will be a difficult matchup; Thatch didn’t mind at all. He lives about a half hour from Broomfield and injuries derailed his entire 2014. He wanted back in that cage no matter what.

“I was just very grateful that I had such a veteran opponent that stepped up,” Thatch said. “I’m excited to fight at home and to be a main event is just an added bonus. I’m just very grateful and excited.”

Thatch (11-1) has not fought since November 2013, a first-round TKO of Paulo Thiago. After that, the Denver native needed surgery to on his shoulder and ankle. He was all set to return to the UFC last August against Jordan Mein when he suffered a compound fracture of his toe. That injury set Thatch back another 10 weeks without training.

In 2013, Thatch burst onto the UFC scene with a quick finish of Justin Edwards and that demolition of Thiago. In all, he has finished his last 10 opponents in the first round. Every single one of his victories has come in the first five minutes as well.

Thatch, 29, is not worried that the injuries have quelled his momentum.

“Apparently this is a contact sport — who knew?” Thatch said. “I’m not too concerned over the hype. Usually my actions will carry a lot longer than the words. I’m gonna continue to fight and impress. Whether I win or lose, you’re gonna love to watch me fight.”

While Thatch is completely healthy physically, he did have to repair some mental and emotional anguish. All “Rukus” has wanted to do was fight and the toe fracture especially brought him down.

“Any time you have a long layover, it’s rough on the mind and it’s something you try to keep the wheels turning as much as possible,” Thatch said. “I tried to make the best of my time, but it was depressing. It was rough.”

That’s why he wants to get back in there so badly and he isn’t necessarily worried about continuing that first-round streak. Henderson isn’t a guy who is easily finished — it has only happened three times in his nine-year career.

“It’s not something I look for and it’s not something I try to force,” Thatch said. “If it comes, it comes. If it goes five rounds, it’ll go five rounds.”

Thompson would have been a tough fight. Henderson is a different animal. He was once regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Though he’s moving up to welterweight, Henderson has a well-rounded game. He’ll be by far the toughest opponent of Thatch’s career. And that’s the exact kind of challenge Thatch was hoping for all along.

“You don’t get in this sport to coast and fight at mediocre levels,” Thatch said. “Benson is a champion and I want to see where I can compete in the sport.”

Sarah Kaufman and Miesha Tate won’t be fighting next. But these sure are some fighting words.

Kaufman called Tate a “coward” in an interview with FOX Sports this week, because Tate initially called her out and then allegedly backed down when Kaufman took to social media. Tate responded in an Instagram post Wednesday, saying she is medically suspended due to a broken orbital bone she sustained in a fight with Sara McMann at UFC 183 last month.

“I want to fight Bethe Correia (the undefeated, tough, relevent fighter) when Im healed up but that sure as HELL doesn’t make me scared of Kaufman,” Tate wrote on Instagram, accompanying ax X-ray photo of her broken bone.

I wasn’t going to bother posting a picture of the break in my orbital bone BUT since Kaufman referred to me as a coward and said I turned down the fight w her repeatedly, I figured I would post the proof. I have not been offered a fight at all because I am on injury suspension. I have always stepped up, never backed down from a fight. I don’t think anyone can argue that I am a coward. I am not cleared to fight (or train) yet but trying to heal as quickly as possible. I want to fight Bethe Correia (the undefeated, tough, relevent fighter) when Im healed up but that sure as HELL doesn’t make me scared of Kaufman

A photo posted by Miesha Tate (@mieshatate) on Feb 11, 2015 at 9:03am PST

Kaufman will instead fight Alexis Davis at UFC 186 on April 25 in Montreal. Kaufman has already beaten Davis twice, but both women are among the top-five contenders in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division. It was clear Kaufman had her heart set on Tate, though. In an Instagram video over the weekend, she crushed a cupcake with her fist. Of course, Tate’s nickname is “Cupcake.”

“As soon as I went online, she disappeared,” Kaufman told FOX Sports. “No response whatsoever. It’s insane, and the only thing it comes down to is if she’ll fight everyone in the division but me, that makes you a coward. It’s as simple as that. Why wouldn’t you want that fight back?”

Kaufman defeated Tate on a Strikeforce Challengers event in 2009. Since then, each has lost to champion Ronda Rousey. Tate has been defeated by Rousey twice. But both are still knocking at the women’s bantamweight door in the UFC. There’s a pretty good chance that rematch will happen eventually.

“I have always stepped up, never backed down from a fight,” Tate wrote. “I don’t think anyone can argue that I am a coward. I am not cleared to fight (or train) yet but trying to heal as quickly as possible.”