Bellator featherweight champion Pat Curran has decided to move to Texas to train with Team Takedown in preparation for his fight with Patricio "Pitbull" Freire at Bellator 123.
Curran had previously trained at a gym in Northern Illinois run by his cousin, UFC and WEC veteran Jeff Curran, who is responsible for Curran getting involved in MMA, according to Yahoo! Sports. Most of Curran's achievements, such as winning and defending the 145-pound title, were made in his time at his cousin's camp.
"I've been in Arlington, Texas, with Team Takedown for the last eight or nine weeks," Curran said. "They've been really pushing me hard here, and I get the full attention of coaches and team members."
The 27-year-old fighter added that the move will also let him be close to his parents while training since they live about 45 minutes away from the camp.
Several successful fighters have come out of Team Takedown, such as UFC welterweight champion Johnny Hendricks, Sherdog reported.
Curran and Freire had fought previously at Bellator 85 in January 2013, which ended in a victory for Curran in a split decision. The champion believes he can use Freire's explosive style to his advantage.
"It's really easy to take angles. If he comes with that aggression again, that's gonna play a role in my favor, It's going to be easier to set up certain combinations, certain moves and that's what we're expecting," Curran said. "He wants to go out there and knock guys out and hit them hard with all his power. Of course, we're expecting that, and that's what happened in the first fight. It can very well happen again this second fight."
Curran said he began training with Team Takedown after his loss to Daniel Strauss, which resulted in him experiencing depression and wondering if he was going to keep fighting, Yahoo! Sports reported.
"I found my way to Team Takedown while I was here and one of the coaches contacted me to help out a fighter," he said. "I decided to stay and do camp here."
While Curran has given Team Takedown praise, he said the move from his cousin's gym was a tough decision to make.
"It is still a tough thing," he said. "Everyone at Team Curran doesn't agree with [my decision]. But it got to the point where, I'm my own person and they have to respect that. It was still a hard decision to make. You spend all your career at one gym, especially when your family owns it ... but you kind of have to be selfish, in a sense. I have to worry about my career. You have to do what you feel is best."
Curran was able to avenge his loss to Straus in March at Bellator 112 with a rear-naked choke that won him back the featherweight title, Sherdog reported.
Bellator 123 will be held on Friday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and will feature Curran vs. Freire as the main event. Curran sees himself having more fights with both Strauss and Freire.
"I see a lot of rematches between me, 'Pitbull' and Strauss," he said.
