Lightweight finalists from Season Two of the Bellator Fighting Championships 155-pound tournament Pat Curran and Toby Imada are set to meet for a shot to become tournament victor and top contender to the belt of champion Eddie Alvarez, and the promotion has named a date a place. On June 10, the two will meet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida to determine the tourney’s best man at Bellator 22.
“We can’t wait to return to South Florida and bring our Lightweight Tournament Championship with us,” stated Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. “I am especially happy that Pat Curran will have a chance to fight in front of his hometown crowd. He has gone on a tremendous run in our Lightweight Tournament and has made a substantial name for himself in the sport of MMA. His fight against Toby Imada, a crafty MMA veteran, is going to be a great fight to watch and a great Main Event at the Hard Rock.”
Curran, formerly off-the-radar, has come out as the dark horse of this tournament, pulling upsets over Mike Ricci and former-UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta to earn a bid in the tournament finale, which will be held in his home state. Curran was 9-3 and relatively unknown prior to his Bellator career, but has introduced himself to the fans of the sport and promotion with this successful tournament run.
Curran’s opponent, Imada, has been in the sport for much longer than the young prospect, holding a record of 25-12 over his 37-fight career. Imada gained his slot in the season finale with back-to-back armbar victories over James Krause and Carey Varnier. The submission ace made waves in the MMA world last year with his inverted triangle submission against Jorge Masvidal at Bellator 5 that many considered the best submission of 2009. A win over Curran this summer would not only mean a shot at the 155-pound title, but also a shot to avenge a loss at the hands of Alvarez from last year.