2014 got off to a great start for Bellator featherweight Pat Curran as he became a two-time featherweight champion in Bellator as he defeated Daniel Straus by submission with just 14 seconds left in the fight.
However, his other fight last year did not go his way as he was defeated by Patricio “Pitbull” Freire at Bellator 123 by unanimous decision to lose the title.
The defeat against Pitbull happened five months ago and Curran is not making any excuses for the defeat. He admitted on The MMA Report Live that Pitbull was the better fighter on that night and everything happens for a reason.
“It takes a little bit of time. You have to let it set in and sit back and realize what happened,” Curran explained. “I just to have to look back at the mistakes that I made and everything can be fixed. I am ok with it and everything happens for a reason. I am a really big believer in that. This is only going to make me a better person, stronger person, and I plan to come back stronger from this. I really want to take my game to the next level and improve on myself as a whole. Inside and outside of the cage.”
“I could sit here and come up with a lot of excuses but I am not going to. I lost fair and square. Pitbull was the better guy and he was the better fighter. He is the champion for a reason. A lot of things did happen. I changed up my training camp. I was going to a different gym at the time. Really, I do not want to sit here and talk about any excuses because that is not who I am.”
He did his training camp for the Pitbull fight with Team Takedown in Texas, but he is now back at Team Curran in Illinois. Since Curran has gone back to Team Curran, does he have any regrets about changing things up last year and going to Team Takedown?
“I had regrets in the beginning and I still regret it but at the same time, I am kind of glad I did it because I met a lot of cool people. I got to see a lot of different things out there and stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new. You can find a positive and a negative in it but overall, I stuck with my decision and I am glad I did it. Everything happens for a reason and it’s only going to make me a better person. I am ready to prove that February 13 when I step back into the Bellator cage.”
On Friday night, Curran will have his first non-title fight since 2011 when he meets Daniel Weichel in the co-main event of Bellator 133 from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. With this being a non-title fight, Curran admitted that having the one pound allowance is big for him and he wants to use this fight to get him back in the title picture in the Bellator 145 pound division.
“Every fighter is different in their own way and he is a very dangerous opponent. I have seen his fights in Bellator and overseas. He is a very dangerous opponent. He is a great grappler. He looks for the submission and if he gets the submission, he goes for it 100 percent right away. You can tell he is well conditioned because he is not afraid to go for it in the first round.”
“If he doesn’t get it, he is still able to come back and give a great performance. I know he is in shape and durable.He is a very well-rounded fighter and he has a lot of experience and that is a key factor in this fight. Experience goes a long way and he is a smart fighter in that sense. I respect Daniel. I am not looking past him at all, but he is a stepping stone to where I want to be in my next fight or couple of fights down the road. Back towards a title shot.”