The Bellator Fighting Championship promotion has announced that Bellator 73: Curran vs. Pitbull will be hosted by Harrah’s Tunica Hotel & Casino in Tunica Resorts, Mississippi.
The event is scheduled to take place on August 24th and will air LIVE on MTV2 and in commercial-free HD on EPIX with the preliminary fights being streamed online at Spike.com. Tickets range from $25-$100 and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000 beginning on Friday, June 29.
Pat Curran (17-4) is coming off his huge KO win over Joe Warren at Bellator 60 to become the Bellator Featherweight Champion. He’ll put his title on the line for the very first time against Bellator Season 4 Tournament Winner Patricio “Pitbull” Freire (17-1).
Ironically, Freire’s lone loss came against Joe Warren in the Bellator Season 2 Featherweight Tournament. He has won three consecutive fights since the loss to earn the shot at Curran.
Curran spoke on the opportunity to defend his belt for the first time:
“This fight with Patricio is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while,” Curran said. “This will be my first title defense, and I just want to get back in the cage and keep developing as a fighter. Pitbull is an outstanding fighter, so this should be a great fight.”
Freire talks about overcoming injuries and the loss of one of his teachers to get this opportunity:
“I’m very happy and relieved this fight is finally happening,” said Pitbull. “I’ve been through a lot with my hand injury and can’t wait to get back in the cage. I’m 100 percent now and all I want is to fulfill my dream of getting the belt and pay tribute to my late teacher Bruno Gouvea. He’s the reason I’m here today and he’ll be with me in spirit cageside watching his work pay off. All is can say is Pat better be ready. I’ve never been so motivated for a fight, and I’ve never wanted the belt so much.”
This should be a great fight. Also on the card will be the Bellator Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament, a Bantamweight Tournament Finals clash between Marcos Galvao and Luis Nogueira. More fights should be announced soon as well. Stay tuned to ProMMAnow (www.prommanow.com) for future updates on the event.