After 7 Years Away, Jeff Curran to Make UFC Return
Mike Whitman Jul 26, 2011
Following a seven-year absence, Jeff Curran
has rejoined the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
MMAJunkie.com reported Tuesday that the 33-year-old bantamweight recently inked a multi-fight UFC contract; Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the news with a source close to the deal.
Neither a fight date nor an opponent has been named for Curran’s
Octagon return, though he is expected to compete sometime this
fall.
Curran made his first and only UFC appearance in January 2004, when he was outpointed by Matt Serra in a lightweight scrap at UFC 46. After the loss, the “Big Frog” embarked on an extended hot-streak, recording wins in 15 of his next 16 starts.
The Illinois native hit the roughest patch of his career while under Zuffa employ, dropping four straight bouts from 2007 to 2009 in World Extreme Cagefighting. Though Curran rebounded from the defeats with back-to-back wins, he would fall to Bryan Goldsby in his April 2010 Bellator Fighting Championships debut.
Most recently, Curran has posted consecutive wins in his own Xtreme Fighting Organization, earning decisions over David Love and Billy Vaughan in December and May, respectively. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt also owns and operates his own gym, Curran Martial Arts Academy, in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, Ill. A veteran of 47 career bouts, Curran has finished 19 of his 33 victims by way of submission.
MMAJunkie.com reported Tuesday that the 33-year-old bantamweight recently inked a multi-fight UFC contract; Sherdog.com subsequently confirmed the news with a source close to the deal.
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Curran made his first and only UFC appearance in January 2004, when he was outpointed by Matt Serra in a lightweight scrap at UFC 46. After the loss, the “Big Frog” embarked on an extended hot-streak, recording wins in 15 of his next 16 starts.
The Illinois native hit the roughest patch of his career while under Zuffa employ, dropping four straight bouts from 2007 to 2009 in World Extreme Cagefighting. Though Curran rebounded from the defeats with back-to-back wins, he would fall to Bryan Goldsby in his April 2010 Bellator Fighting Championships debut.
Most recently, Curran has posted consecutive wins in his own Xtreme Fighting Organization, earning decisions over David Love and Billy Vaughan in December and May, respectively. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt also owns and operates his own gym, Curran Martial Arts Academy, in the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, Ill. A veteran of 47 career bouts, Curran has finished 19 of his 33 victims by way of submission.
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