Tonight in Hammond, Indiana, Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus will make his first title-defense in a rubber-match against Pat Curran, the guy he won the title from in November. But just making weight for the fight turned into a harrowing test of Straus’s character. Expecting to come in a little over the 145-pound limit, Straus chopped his own dreads off backstage to help shed some ounces. The raggedy aftermath is what you see above.
Tonight in Hammond, Indiana, Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus will make his first title-defense in a rubber-match against Pat Curran, the guy he won the title from in November. But just making weight for the fight turned into a harrowing test of Straus’s character. Expecting to come in a little over the 145-pound limit, Straus chopped his own dreads off backstage to help shed some ounces. The raggedy aftermath is what you see above.
The official Bellator 112 weigh-in results are after the jump…
MAIN CARD
– Bellator Featherweight World Title Fight: Daniel Straus (145) vs. Pat Curran (144.7)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Andrey Koreshkov (170.7) vs. Nah’ Shon Burrell (171)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Sam Oropeza (170.2) vs. Cristiano Souza (170.8)
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Jesse Juarez (170.7) vs. Adam McDonough (170.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD
– Bellator Welterweight Tournament Opening Round: Nathan Coy (170.5) vs. Paul Bradley (170.8)
– Welterweight Feature Fight: A.J. Matthews (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.7)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (170 lbs*): Diego Marlon (136.6) vs. Lloyd Carter (136.1)
– Featherweight Feature Fight: Darrion Caldwell (145.7) vs. Lance Surma (146)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (170 lbs.): Derek Loffer (169) vs. Bobby Reardanz (160**)
– Catchweight Feature Fight (215lbs.): Jason Guida (213.5) vs. Anthony Gomez (214)
– Heavyweight Feature Fight: Daniel James (265) vs. Erick Correa (263.5)
* This is a typo, obviously. But that’s what Bellator sent us.
Bellator’s tenth season hasn’t even started yet and the company is already in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Remember the highly suspicious bait-and-switch Bellator pulled in November 2013? The one where their light heavyweight champ Attila Vegh conveniently got “injured,” allowing Bellator to book a much-anticipated rematch between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton (who really should’ve adopted the nickname “Kingslayer” after defeating Mo the first time) for an interim title?
Fast forward to yesterday, when Ariel Helwani interviewed Vegh in what looks like a dingy auto repair shop. Vegh spoke about the “injury,” but not before some prodding by Helwani.
Bellator’s tenth season hasn’t even started yet and the company is already in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Remember the highly suspicious bait-and-switch Bellator pulled in November 2013? The one where their light heavyweight champ Attila Vegh conveniently got “injured,” allowing Bellator to book a much-anticipated rematch between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Emanuel Newton (who really should’ve adopted the nickname “Kingslayer” after defeating Mo the first time) for an interim title?
Fast forward to yesterday, when Ariel Helwani interviewed Vegh in what looks like a dingy auto repair shop. Vegh spoke about the “injury,” but not before some prodding by Helwani.
“I was injured,” Vegh maintained through a translator when first asked about the situation.
“I did have an injury before, but I was ready for the November fight,” he then said. “I wasn’t disappointed, but I was ready to fight.” He claimed to have “internal bleeding” from a kick to the rib cage.
Helwani kept pressing while Vegh and his translator nervously fiddled. He wanted to know why Vegh didn’t ask Bellator to book him in the fight against Newton since, after all, the Slovak was ready for the fight. Vegh channeled his inner Dana White with his response.
“No, I didn’t ask them,” he said. Why not? “Because.”
“I was ready just in case if somebody would be out or injured,” he explained. Then the discussion drifted to other, less interesting topics.
Let’s get this straight. According to Vegh, the CHAMPION (Vegh) was relegated to being an alternate for an INTERIM title fight. Wow. Is that the most Bellator thing that’s ever happened? We’re not definitively saying Bellator screwed Vegh, but the situation sounds fishy to us, especially in light of this interview.
Bellator: Where title shots are earned, not given…unless you’re not quite as marketable or well known as somebody else. Then we’ll give you a title shot.
Last night, I decided to jump on a grenade and inform you of everything that was wrong with Bellator’s decision to book a third fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran at Bellator 112. That I have somehow managed to avoid being dubbed a “jealous h8r” for my opinion up to this point is a miracle on par with Stefan Struve’s return to sparring, but I digress.
In any case, the main point I outlined in the case against Straus vs. Curran III was that there was a far more interesting (and logical) matchup to be had: Straus vs. Pitbull 2. You see, not only had Patricio “Pitbull” Freire won the season 9 featherweight tournament in November with a first round TKO of Justin Wilcox (the third TKO win in his past 4 fights), but he remains the only man to defeat newly-crowned champion Daniel Straus in Bellator. Throw in the fact that Straus was utterly dominant in his victory over Curran just two months ago and you’d have to be a short-sighted nincompoop to rebook Straus vs. Curran III, right?
Wrong. Bellator booked it, and now Patricio Pitbull is pissed right the fuck off. Which can only mean that he will be forced to fight for Bellator for the rest of his natural life, Amen.
Last night, I decided to jump on a grenade and inform you of everything that was wrong with Bellator’s decision to book a third fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran at Bellator 112. That I have somehow managed to avoid being dubbed a “jealous h8r” for my opinion up to this point is a miracle on par with Stefan Struve’s return to sparring, but I digress.
In any case, the main point I outlined in the case against Straus vs. Curran III was that there was a far more interesting (and logical) matchup to be had: Straus vs. Pitbull 2. You see, not only had Patricio “Pitbull” Freire won the season 9 featherweight tournament in November with a first round TKO of Justin Wilcox (the third TKO win in his past 4 fights), but he remains the only man to defeat newly-crowned champion Daniel Straus in Bellator. Throw in the fact that Straus was utterly dominant in his victory over Curran just two months ago and you’d have to be a short-sighted nincompoop to rebook Straus vs. Curran III, right?
Wrong. Bellator booked it, and now Patricio Pitbull is pissed right the fuck off. Which can only mean that he will be forced to fight for Bellator for the rest of his natural life, Amen.
I’m very disappointed with the whole situation. I’m very upset with the organization.
They said I would be fighting the winner of Straus vs. Curran III, but I question why that fight has to happen first. I told them I should get the shot, and then they just said that’s the direction the company is going and for me to just keep doing what I’m doing. Nothing they do right now is going to make right what they have done to me.
But if Bellator doesn’t believe in me – if they don’t want me to be champion and to do things right – I’d like to just ask them to let me out of my contract.
Fun fact: Swap the pistol with a railroad spike, and this is exactly how a Bellator contract meeting looks.
I find it interesting that Bellator told Patricio that his rematch wouldn’t be in line with “the direction the company is going.” Fans have been wondering for a while if Bellator’s merger with Viacom has been responsible for any of their puzzling business decisions as of late, and exactly how much decision-making power founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has been left with. Decisions like Straus vs. Curran III, which a fan of the sport like Bjorn would probably recognize as against his company’s best interest, seem to suggest that he is either not driving the Bellator bus anymore or is asleep at the wheel.
But one aspect I didn’t cover in my virulent takedown objectionable critique of Straus vs. Curran III is the location in which the fight will take place. Thankfully, Daniel Straus is here to comment on that situation as well (via Straus’ Facebook):
Oh, now I see what Bellator was talking about with “the direction they were going.” Bellator 112 is transpiring at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, a mere hour and a half drive from Curran’s hometown of Crystal Lake, Illinois. They were just being literal. I wonder how Eddie Alvarez is going to feel when they announce that his trilogy fight with Michael Chandler will be going down in the backseat of the Trans Am that Chandler got his first hummer in. (#carpuns)
So yeah, you done fucked up, Bellator. Here with a closing statement about how bad you done fucked up is, once again, Patricio Pitbull (via MMAFighting this time):
That whole ‘where the title shots are earned, not given’ is pure bulls–t now. That doesn’t exist anymore. Bellator is eating its own words. They didn’t respect my wins in the tournament.
It wasn’t even close. Straus won and is the f–king champion. Curran does not deserve a rematch. Curran is (Bellator’s) little boy. I hope Straus beats him up. I want Straus to destroy him inside the cage.
I won’t fight again. I will wait for my shot at the title to shut Bellator up.
File another grievance form to Bellator’s HR department, which has got to look like Charlie Kelly’s mailroom by now.
Last night, Bjorn Rebney announced that Bellator 112 will feature the opening rounds of the welterweight tournament and be headlined by a trilogy-completing featherweight title fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran. If this fight booking comes as a surprise to you, well, it should. But allow Bjorn to clear up the confusion:
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran are two of the best featherweights on the planet and deserve every ounce and praise and recognition they receive.
Hard to argue with that. Now if we can just wrap things up without saying something ridiculous…
Our featherweight division continues to be the deepest and strongest featherweight division in MMA, and I’m very excited to have this title fight headline a huge night of fights on March 14 from The Horseshoe Hammond.
Well, at least he tried.
Let me see if I can follow Bjorn’s line of logic here: Straus just defeated Curran by clear-cut unanimous decision last November. Meanwhile, there are two, count ’em, TWO, featherweight tournament winners waiting in the wings for a shot at Straus. One is Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who has been unable to secure a fight license in America since winning the season 8 tournament (which, let’s be honest, Bellator probably has a hand in). The other is Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who just won his second featherweight tournament at Bellator 108 and is the only man to defeat Straus under the Bellator banner.
Yet despite all this, Bellator is granting Curran an immediate rematch against a guy who dominated him just two months ago. And that somehow validates the depth of the Bellator featherweight roster? You gotta hand it to Bjorn, he is second to none in the fight game in his ability to keep a straight face while making immediately contradictory and insanely unaware statements.
Last night, Bjorn Rebney announced that Bellator 112 will feature the opening rounds of the welterweight tournament and be headlined by a trilogy-completing featherweight title fight between Daniel Straus and Pat Curran. If this fight booking comes as a surprise to you, well, it should. But allow Bjorn to clear up the confusion:
Daniel Straus and Pat Curran are two of the best featherweights on the planet and deserve every ounce and praise and recognition they receive.
Hard to argue with that. Now if we can just wrap things up without saying something ridiculous…
Our featherweight division continues to be the deepest and strongest featherweight division in MMA, and I’m very excited to have this title fight headline a huge night of fights on March 14 from The Horseshoe Hammond.
Well, at least he tried.
Let me see if I can follow Bjorn’s line of logic here: Straus just defeated Curran by clear-cut unanimous decision last November. Meanwhile, there are two, count ‘em, TWO, featherweight tournament winners waiting in the wings for a shot at Straus. One is Magomedrasul Khasbulaev, who has been unable to secure a fight license in America since winning the season 8 tournament (which, let’s be honest, Bellator probably has a hand in). The other is Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who just won his second featherweight tournament at Bellator 108 and is the only man to defeat Straus under the Bellator banner.
Yet despite all this, Bellator is granting Curran an immediate rematch against a guy who dominated him just two months ago. And that somehow validates the depth of the Bellator featherweight roster? You gotta hand it to Bjorn, he is second to none in the fight game in his ability to keep a straight face while making immediately contradictory and insanely unaware statements.
Look, it’s not that we’re upset by the idea of Straus/Curran III, it’s just that we’re disappointed by it. Bellator is essentially creating a logjam at 145 lbs to what, cash in on a rematch that fans aren’t really asking for?
Not every trilogy can be Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler, and this fight isn’t even in the same ballpark as that one from an entertainment (or logical) standpoint. Alvarez vs. Chandler II was a FOTY contender that ended in a controversial decision (and THAT fight was only booked to settle Alvarez’s lawsuit with Bellator, BTW). Straus vs. Curran II was a largely forgettable fight in which the champion was dominated by a contender who hadn’t fought in over a year. If they are truly destined to fight a third time, why not let Curran work his way up like everyone else?
Booking another immediate rematch not only betrays the basic principles of Bellator’s tournament structure, but effectively kills the momentum of the previous tournament winners and ices the fight that fans should be seeing. By the time “Frodo” or “Pitbull” get their shots, most fans will be too caught up in the season 10 tournament to remember that either of them won their respective seasons in the first place. Imagine if Frank Dux, fresh off impressive wins over guy #1 and guy#2, was forced to ride the pine for a year until Chong Li and Ray Jackson could finally settle things. Tension gone. Movie over. Boner killed.
While rematching “Pitbull” and Straus wouldn’t exactly promote the idea that Bellator’s featherweight division is “the deepest in MMA,” it would at least clear up some space before another featherweight tournament winner is crowned. Seems simple enough, right? Well not in Bellator, where title shots are earned, not given (unless you’re a familiar face, in which case we will give you whatever you want).
Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.
The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.
The same couldn’t be said for the next fight on the card: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis. The two men fought for the honor of being Bellator’s first “Fight Master” winner, a title as dubious as being the first XFL champion. Riggs won a wrestling-heavy decision that sedated the crowd and likely had television audience flipping channels.
Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus, the first of three title fights on the card, followed Riggs-Bronzoulis. This fight didn’t wow viewers either. There were a few spurts of action — as well as a point-deduction for an illegal knee that essentially KO’d Straus in the third round — but it was a generally lackluster affair that saw Straus take Curran’s featherweight title and in doing so avenge his 2009 loss to Curran.
But Straus wasn’t the only fighter looking to avenge a loss at Bellator 106. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal sought victory over Emanuel Newton, who humiliated Lawal with a spinning backfist knockout back at Bellator 90. Lawal failed in this task.
Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.
The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.
The same couldn’t be said for the next fight on the card: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis. The two men fought for the honor of being Bellator’s first “Fight Master” winner, a title as dubious as being the first XFL champion. Riggs won a wrestling-heavy decision that sedated the crowd and likely had television audience flipping channels.
Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus, the first of three title fights on the card, followed Riggs-Bronzoulis. This fight didn’t wow viewers either. There were a few spurts of action — as well as a point-deduction for an illegal knee that essentially KO’d Straus in the third round — but it was a generally lackluster affair that saw Straus take Curran’s featherweight title and in doing so avenge his 2009 loss to Curran.
But Straus wasn’t the only fighter looking to avenge a loss at Bellator 106. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal sought victory over Emanuel Newton, who humiliated Lawal with a spinning backfist knockout back at Bellator 90. Lawal failed in this task. He looked impressive with his takedowns and pressure early on, but faded fast, and began looking at the clock and taking deep breaths more than he was blocking punches. As the contest stumbled into the championship rounds, Newton gassed too. The latter half of the fight wasn’t Houston Alexander-Kimbo Slice bad but it was getting to that point. Newton won via unanimous decision and earned a shady, gimmick interim title.
The main event saved the night. Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler attempted to rip one another apart for our entertainment (and for money, of course). Their fight rivaled Diego Sanchez-Gilbert Melendez in terms of excitement; it was equally action-packed but far more competitive. Chandler had the upper hand at some points, but it was Alvarez who was just a little quicker, landed a little more, and was a little more aware. The judges awarded Alvarez with a split-decision victory — to Bjorn Rebney’s apparent dismay — but the match took a lot out of both fighters.
The aftermath? Let’s just say Bellator really lucked out that this wasn’t put on PPV. The fights, on the whole, weren’t entertaining enough to warrant a price tag. Even worse, cherished “star” King Mo lost to a fighter many deemed beneath his level in Emanuel Newton for the second time. The positive fallout is that with an Alvarez victory, Bellator has at least one title fight to book that people actually want to see now: A rubber match between Alvarez and Chandler.
Here are the complete results for Bellator 106:
Main Card
Eddie Alvarez def. Michael Chandler via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Daniel Straus def Pat Curran via unanimous decision (49-45, 48-46, 48-46)
Joe Riggs def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Richman def. Akop Stepanyan via TKO, 4:05 of round 1
Preliminary Card
Cristiano Souza def. Alejandro Garcia via submission (rear naked choke), 3:06 of round 3
Brandon Halsey def. Hector Ramirez via TKO, 0:52 of round 1
Mike Guymon def. Aaron Miller via submission (triangle choke), 4:20 of round 2
Cleber Luciano def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh Smith def. Darren Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Of late, much of the big news that comes from Bellator has to do with contract clauses and disputes, lawsuits and high-profile cancellations. Because of that, one can imagine it being difficult for a marquee Bellator fighter like Pat Curran to focus on simply doing his job well.
However, the featherweight champion insists that he doesn’t keep up on other people’s news and stays focused on what matters — fighting. “I don’t like to think about it too much,” he tells CagePotato.
“As a fighter I have a very short career window and I have to make the most of where I’m at right now. I’m on a main stage with a major organization that gives me the opportunity to stay busy and make a pretty decent living.”
Having a tough opponent in front of you can help a fighter keep focused as well and Curran has exactly that this Saturday at Bellator 106 when he defends his belt against Bellator Season 6 tournament winner Daniel Straus.
“He’s very talented and very well rounded,” Curran says of the challenger.
“He throws a lot of straight, long punches and follows up with kicks. He does a very good job mixing up striking with wrestling. He’s good at clinching with guys and wearing them out. I’m definitely not just expecting a striking fight like I had with ‘Pitbull’ [Patricio Freire]. I’m prepared for anything. If it becomes a striking match, I’m ready for it. If it goes to the ground, I’m ready to mix it up.”
(“The goal was to make a good living doing this and I’m already there. I want to see how far I can take it.” Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)
Of late, much of the big news that comes from Bellator has to do with contract clauses and disputes, lawsuits and high-profile cancellations. Because of that, one can imagine it being difficult for a marquee Bellator fighter like Pat Curran to focus on simply doing his job well.
However, the featherweight champion insists that he doesn’t keep up on other people’s news and stays focused on what matters — fighting. “I don’t like to think about it too much,” he tells CagePotato.
“As a fighter I have a very short career window and I have to make the most of where I’m at right now. I’m on a main stage with a major organization that gives me the opportunity to stay busy and make a pretty decent living.”
Having a tough opponent in front of you can help a fighter keep focused as well and Curran has exactly that this Saturday at Bellator 106 when he defends his belt against Bellator Season 6 tournament winner Daniel Straus.
“He’s very talented and very well rounded,” Curran says of the challenger.
“He throws a lot of straight, long punches and follows up with kicks. He does a very good job mixing up striking with wrestling. He’s good at clinching with guys and wearing them out. I’m definitely not just expecting a striking fight like I had with ‘Pitbull’ [Patricio Freire]. I’m prepared for anything. If it becomes a striking match, I’m ready for it. If it goes to the ground, I’m ready to mix it up.”
Curran has indeed managed to develop a well-rounded game in his brief six years in the sport of MMA. He’s come a long way from growing up pretty ignorant of the sport in Florida and having his cousin, UFC veteran Jeff Curran, convince him to move to Northern Illinois with him and give it a shot.
“I had no clue back then,” Curran says. “I kind of went into it blind.”
After high school and going to school to become a paramedic, Curran heeded his cousin’s advice, moved north and began training as much as he could in between odd jobs. Now, he’s one of the best 145 pound fighters in the world and says he’s accomplished what he set out to do, though his hunger remains.
“My goal, overall, is to keep doing what I’m doing,” Pat explains.
“I know I’m still young and haven’t hit my peak yet. I want to keep an open mind, keep developing and keep learning. The goal was to make a good living doing this and I’m already there. I want to see how far I can take it.”
