Pat Curran: New Team, New Focus Heading into Bellator 155
Pat Curran: New Team, New Focus Heading into Bellator 155
By Duane FinleyThe game in mixed martial arts is constantly changing. New wrinkles in established styles become the norm. A skill set that once allowed a fi
By Duane Finley
The game in mixed martial arts is constantly changing.
New wrinkles in established styles become the norm. A skill set that once allowed a fighter to dominate inside the cage loses its begins to lose its effectiveness.
Pat Curran used to reign atop the Bellator featherweight division, and his desire to do so again was one of the main motivators for him to leave the Midwest for South Florida.
Over the past decade, several areas around the country have become havens for top MMA talent. The Miami area is certainly one of them. A handful of notable teams call the region home, and the Blackzilians have risen to the top of that heap.
Led by Rashad Evans, the team has proven to be a force at the top level of the sport. Curran knew he needed to switch things up in his approach, and he believed the Jaco Training Center was the place to find what he was looking for.
“I love training with the Blackzilians down in South Florida,” Curran said. “They make sure you are fight ready and have such a deep talent pool on that team. There is a huge group of guys training there and the coaching staff is incredible. It really is a great environment.”
Curren believes becoming a Blackzilian was one of the best decisions he’s made.
“There are a lot of fighters on the team who compete at my weight or close to it,” Curran said. “That’s hard to find where I was. It was one of the major factors that played into making the move there to train. It’s what I needed at this point in my career to bring out my best.”
While Curran made his name fighting out of the Chicago area, he actually spent a large portion of his childhood in Florida. So Curran doesn’t feel the move to Blackzilians was a drastic shift; it was more like a return to something familiar.
“I know I’m associated with Illinois because of fighting out of Chicago. But I also plenty of years in Florida growing up," Curran said. "Quite a few actually. So this is more like a homecoming to me more than anything else.”
The move to Florida was done to ensure Curran felt best prepared for his next challenge. He will face former World Series of Fighting featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 155 next Friday night. The buzz Karakhanyan generated on his rise from prospect to champion has remained steady since he signed with Bellator, mostly because Karakhanyan is a thrilling fighter.
Curran has been known to bring a similar style that has yielded numerous highlight reel finishes.
“He is very dangerous on his feet and has some solid submission skills,” Curran said. “I’m very aware of what he brings, but I feel like the difference in this fight will be made by my ability to take him to my level. I’m going to get him out of his comfort zone."
The game in mixed martial arts is constantly changing.
New wrinkles in established styles become the norm. A skill set that once allowed a fighter to dominate inside the cage loses its begins to lose its effectiveness.
Pat Curran used to reign atop the Bellator featherweight division, and his desire to do so again was one of the main motivators for him to leave the Midwest for South Florida.
Over the past decade, several areas around the country have become havens for top MMA talent. The Miami area is certainly one of them. A handful of notable teams call the region home, and the Blackzilians have risen to the top of that heap.
Led by Rashad Evans, the team has proven to be a force at the top level of the sport. Curran knew he needed to switch things up in his approach, and he believed the Jaco Training Center was the place to find what he was looking for.
“I love training with the Blackzilians down in South Florida,” Curran said. “They make sure you are fight ready and have such a deep talent pool on that team. There is a huge group of guys training there and the coaching staff is incredible. It really is a great environment.”
Curren believes becoming a Blackzilian was one of the best decisions he’s made.
“There are a lot of fighters on the team who compete at my weight or close to it,” Curran said. “That’s hard to find where I was. It was one of the major factors that played into making the move there to train. It’s what I needed at this point in my career to bring out my best.”
While Curran made his name fighting out of the Chicago area, he actually spent a large portion of his childhood in Florida. So Curran doesn’t feel the move to Blackzilians was a drastic shift; it was more like a return to something familiar.
“I know I’m associated with Illinois because of fighting out of Chicago. But I also plenty of years in Florida growing up," Curran said. "Quite a few actually. So this is more like a homecoming to me more than anything else.”
The move to Florida was done to ensure Curran felt best prepared for his next challenge. He will face former World Series of Fighting featherweight champion Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 155 next Friday night. The buzz Karakhanyan generated on his rise from prospect to champion has remained steady since he signed with Bellator, mostly because Karakhanyan is a thrilling fighter.
Curran has been known to bring a similar style that has yielded numerous highlight reel finishes.
“He is very dangerous on his feet and has some solid submission skills,” Curran said. “I’m very aware of what he brings, but I feel like the difference in this fight will be made by my ability to take him to my level. I’m going to get him out of his comfort zone."