Curran vs. Strauss Title Fight Added to Nov. 2nd Bellator Pay-Per-View

With two title defenses already under his belt, Bellator Featherweight Champion Pat Curran will look to make it 3 for 3 in 2013 when he faces Featherweight Tournament winner Daniel Straus live on Pay-Per-View November 2nd from The Long Beach Arena. Curran vs. Straus now joins a fight card that already features King Mo vs. Emanuel Newton for the Interim Light Heavyweight Title, the rematch of 2011’s fight of the year between Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez for the Lightweight World Title, as well as the main event of the evening, Rampage Jackson vs. Tito Ortiz.

“Pat Curran’s one of the best Mixed Martial Artists we have in the game today,” Bellator Chairman & CEO said. “Before breaking his hand Straus was a fixture in the Top 10 rankings with a huge amount of talent. Curran vs. Straus is a fight I’ve wanted to see since Daniel won the tournament a year ago last May. This should be an epic world title fight and our PPV provides the perfect stage.”

Only 25, Curran’s career has skyrocketed since claiming the Bellator Featherweight World Title in March of 2012 with a devastating knockout win over “The Baddest Man on the Planet” Joe Warren. Currently ranked 2nd in the World by ESPN’s Featherweight Power Rankings, “Paddy Mike” is looking to continue his stranglehold on the featherweight division with a victory on November 2nd, and looking to push his ranking to #1 in the World while maintaining his focus on the challenges that await him.

“I’ve been with Bellator since the beginning, and seen my career grow as Bellator has,” Curran said. “It means the world to me to be able to defend my title on our first Pay-Per-View, especially with such a tough fight ahead of me. I’m not taking Straus lightly. He is an incredibly tough featherweight, and I’m not even thinking about our first fight in 2009, we are two totally different guys right now. This card is stacked, and I want to give Bellator and all our fans a great show.”

For Straus, the fight against Curran is a long time coming. After winning the Bellator Season 6 Featherweight Tournament, Straus suffered a broken hand and was sidelined indefinitely. After nearly a year on the sidelines, Straus is ready to finally fight for the title, as well as erasing a 2009 loss that still haunts the Ohio native.

“It’s finally here. I’ve faced so many setbacks over the last year, and my title shot is finally here,” Straus said. “When Pat and I met in 2009, we were two completely different fighters. Both of us have developed so much in that time, but I still want that loss of my record. That fight taught me a lot about where I was as a fighter, especially considering I’ve gone 17-1 since we last met. I’m just excited to be able to get a chance to fight for a title on a huge stage like this. I really don’t know how this fight is going to end, but I envision it going quickly. This won’t be a long, drawn out process. I’m going in for the kill.”