Bjorn Rebney considering Daniel Straus-Pat Curran 3 for next Bellator 145 title fight
BETHLEHEM, PA. – Daniel Straus avenged one loss earlier this month, and he’s on track for a shot at avenging another one, as well.
But that’s only if Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney doesn’t flip the script on things just a little bit.
Straus (22-4 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) won the Bellator featherweight title at Bellator 106, outpointing Pat Curran (19-5 MMA, 9-2 BMMA), the man who handed him a loss in April 2009. As champion, he’s scheduled to face Patricio Freire (21-2 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) next after “Pitbull†won the Season 9 featherweight tournament a week ago.
But the thought of seeing Straus and Curran duke it out again may prove to be too enticing for the Bellator boss to pass up.
Following Friday’s Season 9-ending Bellator 109 show at Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, Pa., Rebney told MMAjunkie a trilogy fight between the two – the first Straus-Curran fight took place outside of Bellator – is something he’s giving thought to.
“I’m giving a lot of serious consideration to making Straus-Curran 3,†Rebney told MMAjunkie following Bellator 109′s post-event news conference. “Of course, ‘Pitbull’ is sitting out there. No final decision has been made, but I’m looking at all the options. There’s a chance you could see Straus-Curran 3.â€
Curran was on a six-fight winning streak before his loss to Straus, which came by unanimous decision in Long Beach, Calif. He won the 2011 “Summer Series†featherweight tournament to get a shot at then-champ Joe Warren. He beat him to take the title in March 2012, then defended it with wins over Freire and Shahbulat Shamhalaev before the loss to Straus.
Straus won the Season 6 tournament before running into injury and legal troubles. But after a layoff of 53 weeks, he returned in a big way, taking it to Curran over five rounds to win the title.
No events for Bellator’s 10th season, which is expected to kick off in January, have been announced.
