With the season four featherweight tournament winner Patricio “Pitbull” Freire recovering from his second surgery on his hand , Bellator has decided to make a switch. The Bellator featherweight champion, Joe Warren (7-2) will now face the summer series featherweight tournament winner Pat Curran early in 2012.

Both Freire (17-1) and Curran (16-4 MMA) were in line for a shot at Warren’s belt, but “The pitbull” was forced out of his planned Bellator 47 bout with Warren due to a broken hand. The second surgery for Freire and 90 days no contact attached has allowed Curran to leapfrog him for the title shot. Once recovered, Freire will then fight the winner of Curran vs. Warren during Bellator’w sixth season six, expected to kick off in March or April

Curran is the only fighter in Bellator history to win two tournaments and he did it in two spate weight classes. In 2010 Curran surprised many by winning the season two lightweight tournament to earn a title shot against Eddie Alvarez. He went on to drop a unanimous decision to Alveraz at Bellator 39 but has been dominated since.

After defeating Freire, Warren went on to defeat Joe Soto for the Bellator featherweight title. Trying to become a champion in two weight classes, Warren entered the bantamweight tournament taking place this season. Things didn’t go as planned though as Alexis Villa handed him his first career lose with a brutal first round knockout in the tournament opening round.

It’s Curran’s experience and well-rounded style against the Olympic wrestler of Warren for the featherweight championship…….