Daniel Straus was scheduled to face Pat Curran for the Bellator featherweight title at Bellator 95, but had to pull out of the fight with an injury and Curran will now defend the title against season seven tournament winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev. 
Bellator MMA Chairman and CEO Bjorn Rebney announced the new fight on Twitter this afternoon and it headlined Bellator 95 on April 4th from the Revel Resort and Casino in Atlantic City.
“When Daniel went down with his injury, I reached out to Shahbulat and his manager to see if he was ready for this fight, and without hesitation his answer was yes,” Rebney said. “After watching Shahbulat’s run through our last tournament, I couldn’t think of a better fight to end our season than Curran-Shahbulat on April 4th.”
Shamhalaev (12-1-1) defeated Rad Martinez in the season seven featherweight tournament final last week at Bellator 90 by TKO in the second round. He has won all three of his fights in Bellator and all of those wins have come by TKO/KO.
“All the work I’ve put in has been for this moment, and I couldn’t be happier to give all the Atlantic City fans a show on April 4th,” Shahbulat said. “Pat Curran is a really tough competitor, but I know what I have to do to get the belt and become Bellator’s new Featherweight Champion.”
Curran (18-4) made his first title defense at the beginning of the year at Bellator 85 and defeated Patricio Pitbull by split decision. It improved his Bellator record to 8-1, with the only defeat coming against Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.
“He’s a great counter striker, as am I, and I see a lot of openings with Shabulat,” Curran said. “Shabulat brings one punch knockout power, and with my style, it’s going to be a swing for fences fight. This is my second fight this season, and I couldn’t ask for more. I love staying active, and Bellator has provided that for me.”
The current Bellator 90 Card is below:
Main Card: (Spike TV – 10 p.m. ET)
Pat Curran (18-4) vs. Shahbulat Shamhalaev (12-1-1)
Middleweight Tournament Final: TBD vs. TBD
Jessica Eye (9-1) vs. Munah Holland (5-2)
Lyman Good (14-3) vs. Dante Rivera (15-6)
Preliminary Card: (Spike.com – 8 p.m. ET)
Jimmie Rivera (11-1) vs. Brian Kelleher (0-0)
Shedrick Goodridge (3-4) vs. Sami Oropeza (7-2)
Darrell Horcher (7-0) vs. Phillipe Nover (6-4)
Carlos Brooks (4-2) vs. Tom DeBlass (7-2)
Liam McGeary (3-0) vs. Anton Talamantes (5-3)
Michael Phillips (6-4) vs. Will Martinez (5-2)
Brett Martinez (4-1) vs. Brylan Van Artsdalen (7-5)