Curran Returns to 145 for Bellator ‘Summer Series’ Tourney

Former Bellator Fighting Championships lightweight title challenger Pat Curran will return the featherweight division for the promotion’s upcoming 145-pound “Summer Series” tournament.

The promotion announced Friday that Curran will make the drop in order to compete in the tournament quarterfinals, which go down at Bellator 46 on June 25. The event, which emanates from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., will air live on MTV2.

“I’ve fought at featherweight for most of my career, so I’m really excited to get back to a weight class where I can really do some damage,” Curran stated in a release. “I had some great results as a lightweight, but I’m really going to make some noise in this summer featherweight tournament.”

The dark-horse winner of Bellator’s second-season lightweight tournament, Curran most recently took on reigning Bellator 155-pound king Eddie Alvarez on April 2, coming up short on the judges’ scorecards after five hard-fought rounds.

The semifinals and final of Bellator’s fourth featherweight tourney are scheduled to take place at the two remaining “Summer Series” shows, Bellator 47 and 48. Though no official dates have been set for the events, they are expected to take place in August and September, respectively.

As with all of Bellator’s tournaments, the winner of the featherweight draw will be awarded $100,000 in total pay and a shot at divisional kingpin Joe Warren. While no other participants have been announced as of yet, the promotion has hinted at the possible involvement of British featherweight Ronnie Mann and former Sengoku champion Marlon Sandro.