Ht/Wt: 5’6/145 lbs.
Age: 31
Hometown: Crystal Lake, Ill.
Fighting out of: Crystal Lake, Ill.
Team: Team Curran
Record: 29-10-1
The Breakdown: A veteran of both the lightweight and featherweight division, Curran’s bantamweight debut comes against Urijah Faber’s protégé Joseph Benavidez. Knocking the blue-chipper off course means Curran will have to rely on his slick jiu-jitsu game against the explosive wrestling of Benavidez. How Curran gets his own offense going against the ground-and-pound of Benavidez will have a lot to do with how “The Big Frog” fits into the food chain of the bantamweight class.
The X Factor: Coming off two straight losses in the featherweight division and with 40 bouts over 11 years already under his belt, the whispers have already started over whether Curran is on his last legs in the fight biz. Going against a premier prospect in a showcase bout, Curran needs to prove the horizon is still off in the distance.
Joseph Benavidez Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 5’4/155 lbs.
Age: 24
Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Fighting out of: Sacramento, Calif.
Team: Team Alpha Male
Record: 9-0
The Breakdown: The supposed heir apparent of the bantamweight division, Benavidez is very much a carbon copy of his mentor, Urijah Faber. Using that unique blend of athleticism and technique will be key against Curran, who can’t match the youngster’s athletic prowess but makes up the difference in technical acumen. There is no doubt that Benavidez will be able to ground Curran, but you have to wonder how an unproven prospect will handle one of the game’s resident jiu-jitsu aces.
The X Factor: Billed as a clash of savvy grappler vs. genetic freakazoid wrestler, striking remains the ignored variable in this bout. While Curran has a fundamentally sound game, Benavidez has speed and power that simply can’t be taught. If Benavidez can force Curran on the defensive standing, he’d cut off Curran at the pass and eliminate his quarry’s best hope of victory.
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The Bottom Line: One of the most evenly matched bouts of the evening, it will be Benavidez’s raw physicality that tilts the bout in his favor. Watch for Curran to keep it close but, Benavidez’s relentless pace and dominant wrestling will be the difference as he takes home a decision win. With that win under his belt, you can bank on Faber and Benavidez making that long anticipated run at the WWE tag team title.