Bellator
Bellator's Bjorn Rebney argues that idea of Daniel Straus-Pat Curran trilogy trumps "Pitbull" Freire's tourney win
Jan 22, 2014 - 10:20:26 PM Bellator's Bjorn Rebney argues that idea of Daniel Straus-Pat Curran trilogy trumps "Pitbull" Freire's tourney win

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Bellator's tenth season doesn't kick off for another month, but they've already had a few highly negative stories hit this month. Getting the most reaction is the saga regarding the Featherweight Title, as the booking of Pat Curran in a third fight with Daniel Straus drew the ire of fans and fighters alike, chiefly tournament winner Patricio "Pitbull" Freire.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney addressed the issue during a media conference call on Monday.

"I've got to analyze everything," Rebney stated (transcribed by MMAMania.com). "I had to weigh and balance the power of the trilogy, I had to look at their first fight, Pat knocked out Daniel, and in the second fight Daniel ground out the W."

"As I look at those two guys and I look at Pitbull, I see, in my mind, and we can debate this stuff until we're blue in the face, but I see, in Straus and Curran, two of the top five or six featherweights on the face of the Earth. So to have the opportunity to settle this once and for all, to have a legitimate trilogy fight between one guy who has won by knockout and guy who, in typical Daniel fashion, ground out a victory, it's a good opportunity. And I've got to weigh and balance the Pitbull issue as well."

Penick's Analysis: The gigantic, gaping hole in logic here is the fact that the first fight happened in 2009, and the second fight wasn't so massively close so as to necessitate an immediate title fight. A trilogy could have been sold after Curran won a tournament as Bellator made Pitbull do, or as they've tried to put in place as the necessary way to get back. The immediate rematch was supposed to be in place for a fight that brought such reaction as to necessitate an immediate title fight. Their November fight did not, and seemingly no one but Curran's camp and Rebney himself has been clamoring for the third fight. Quite simply, the wrong decision was made here, and regardless of the motivations behind that choice, the reaction from almost everyone else should have made that clear. This argument from Rebney simply doesn't fit with the reality of what happened in that November fight and with what the reaction has been to the idea of this trilogy fight.