The next Bellator featherweight tournament winner to get a shot at the 135 lbs title will not be Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire (17-1), but instead will be Pat Curran (16-4).
Freire and Bellator Featherweight champ Joe Warren (7-2) had been scheduled to meet at Bellator 47, but hand surgery is keeping the ‘Pitbull’ out of action for the time being. This bout would have been a rematch as Freire and Warren had met previously as part of Bellator 23 in the Season Two tournament. Warren earned a split decision victory in that fight, moving onto the finals to eventually beat Joe Soto to become the first Bellator Featherweight champion.
News of the matchup comes from Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, who confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.com. Rebney says that fans can expect to see the Warren vs. Curran title bout sometime in February at an unannounced Bellator event.
Freire won the Season Four Featherweight tournament this past spring, beating Daniel Straus by unanimous decision, to earn his shot at the title. When he is finally able to return, it will be uncertain whether or not he’ll get a chance to avenge that loss to Warren, the only one of Freire’s career.
Curran won the “Summer Series” Featherweight Tournament by stopping Marlon Sandro in August, beating the Brazilian by second round knockout. Curran dropped to 145 lbs after losing to Eddie Alvarez in April in a lightweight title fight.
Warren will meet Curran on a loss, having dropped down to Bantamweight for Season Five. He was stopped cold by current finalist Alexis Vila at Bellator 51 this past September. Warren has yet to defend his Bellator title, and will do so against Curran.