With his training camp winding down and a date with Patricio “Pitbull” Freire looming, Pat Curran suffered a broken orbital bone during sparring which has forced him to withdraw from their championship bout slated for Bellator 73.
Curran (17-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC) confirmed the injury via his Twitter account.
The highly anticipated match-up was to headline Bellator 73, which takes place Aug. 24, and would have been Curran’s first attempt at defending his featherweight title since becoming the organization’s champion after violently dispatching Joe Warren by KO at Bellator 60.
ESPN.com was the first to report the injury, which should keep the champion sidelined for several months. It is not clear whether Freire will remain on the card as searches for potential replacements continue. In addition, the report also confirmed that the bantamweight tournament finals bout between Marcos Galvao and Luis Nogueira will be elevated to the main event slot.