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Playing it Safe No Longer a Part of Jeff Curran's Game
MMA veteran Jeff “The Big Frog” Curran recently spoke with Heavy.com about his upcoming fight against Bryan Goldsby at Bellator 14. After losing four fights in a row, Curran (31-12-1) was released from his WEC contract. But the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt believes he is one more victory away from making his return to the UFC’s sister promotion.
Heavy.com: You were originally set to fight Joe Doherty at Bellator 14 in your home state, but are now taking on late replacement Bryan Goldsby. How are you feeling heading into this fight and what are your thoughts on the matchup?
Jeff Curran: He’s tough and he is a step up from Doherty, so I’m looking forward to that. He’s a good striker, he’s tall, and he’s a good 135-lbs fighter so he’s actually a little bit more than I bargained for, I think. I thought I had a good fight with Doherty in the first place. I don’t think the Athletic Commission knows what they are talking about.
Heavy.com:You’ve been in the sport since the late 90’s and have witnessed the growth of MMA firsthand. Did you expect MMA to become as popular as it is today?
Jeff Curran: Nobody did. I always anticipated that it would become something bigger than what it was and every time it would take a step forward I would get excited about where it was headed. Now, it seems like the sky is the limit. There is something for everyone.
Heavy.com:As a fighter that has been competing since the early days, how do you keep up with the constant evolution of the sport?
Jeff Curran: You definitely have to stay humble. You can’t think that because you’ve been there and done that, that there is nothing left to learn. It’s the same with Jiu-Jitsu. It is always evolving and is not the same way now that it was ten years ago.
Heavy.com:What is the biggest difference in the way fighters utilize Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu today in comparison to how the art was used back in the early days?
Jeff Curran: The biggest thing today with grappling, and not just in MMA but also high level grapplers like Marcelo Garcia, [is that] they’re aggressive. Back in the early days, you used to wait for the other guy to get tired and then make your move. Nowadays you can’t do that because you run the risk of losing a decision. That was the old philosophy. You let the guy wear out and pick him apart as time goes by and eventually catch him. Obviously with the time limits, that can’t happen today. And with the way judges score fights, you can’t take your time on the ground. You have to get after it.
Heavy.com:Four years ago you were considered one of the top featherweight fighters in the world after going on a six-fight win streak. Unfortunately, you lost a bit of steam in the WEC losing to Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Joseph Benavidez, and Takeya Mizugaki all in a row. Now that you’ve been cut from the WEC, is your main goal to get back with the Zuffa owned organization?
Jeff Curran: Yeah, that’s the plan. Tthere’s talk [about bringing me back] in June if this fight goes well. They gave me the goal when I left [the WEC] that if I wanted to come back ,I had to win three fights. So I went and I got after it. I won two straight towards the end of 2009, so they are pretty happy with my comeback and will hopefully bring me back in June.
The problem with my run at 145-lbs against Urijah [Faber] and Mike Brown was just that I wanted it all right now. I wanted to go to the WEC and I wanted to be the champion. I really should have come in with a slower mindset and fought some of the lower level guys first. I shouldn’t have gone right to the champion and I pushed that to happen and when I failed against Urijah, it sent me into a tailspin. I train my ass off for every fight and I gave it everything I got, but my mindset just wasn’t the same and now that I’m out of the WEC it is time for me to get back.
Heavy.com:What is your contract situation like with Strikeforce and Bellator? In November 2009, you fought on the undercard of a Strikeforce event and now you are set to make your debut with Bellator on April 14. Is it just a one-fight deal with these promotions?
Jeff Curran: Yeah, well we have the option for a second [fight] if we want it within a certain time period, but I honestly don’t even know. My manager, Monte Cox handles everything, so if he says I can fight then I sign the contract and fight. My deal with Strikeforce is pretty much washed away, but they don’t have my division anyway, so it was never my intention to stay with them. I’m fighting in the local main event for Bellator in Chicago, so I get to be in the main event. They are featuring quarterfinals for a huge tournament that is going to be on TV and my cousin is also going to be on the card. I have some of my other fighters on the undercard, so it’s just a good show to be a part of. I want to support Bellator so they come back to Chicago, and since my cousin is going to be there, I feel like Bellator is going to be a part of my family. Ultimately though, my main goal is to get back into the WEC. That’s where I need to be.
Heavy.com: Like you just mentioned, your cousin Pat Curran is going to be competing on the very same card against Mike Ricci in the first round of Bellator’s season 2 lightweight tournament. Ricci has a lot of hype around him and his trainer Firas Zahabi believes he is the future of MMA. How do you like this matchup and how do you think Pat will do against Ricci?
Jeff Curran: Nobody knows a whole lot about my cousin yet other than the fact that he trains with me and they know he is talented. At 145-lbs he’s a terror. He moved back up in weight for this tournament and he’s been weight training for the first time since he started MMA. He’s got some muscle going and he’s got his strength up. He’s dangerous and to fight somebody coming out of the Tristar gym - out of GSP’s camp - is what we want. We want to fight guys that are notable and have potential going for them.
Heavy.com:When you initially dropped down to the bantamweight division after your loss to Mike Brown at featherweight, you had your eye on then-bantamweight champion Miguel Torres. Is that still a fight you want at some point?
Jeff Curran: All I wanted from him was the belt. He was the champion and he was the guy that had everything and I wanted it, that’s all that was. I’ve been fighting for a long time and I respect him. Now that he is on a two-fight losing streak, and as a guy that likes him, I want to see him build himself back up and I don’t even have it in me to get out there and fight him to be honest. I’m looking to go out there and kill whoever I fight and I feel bad for the way his career is going, so hopefully someone else can be the victim there and he can build himself back up.
Heavy.com:For someone who has been fighting for 12 years, you’re actually a pretty young guy at 32 years old. How much longer do you see yourself fighting?
Jeff Curran: I come into every fight these days in good shape, much better shape than I was when I was younger in the sport. I’ve just got the right trainers now and I’m on the right diet but my injuries will play more of a factor into that. It’s not going to be whether I have the cardio or the strength to move forward, it’s going to be injuries and some of my injuries these days are pretty bad. They’ve hindered me from a lot of drills so I always have to modify things. I’ll keep fighting, but I want to be able to play with my kids and if it gets in the way of that, then it is a different story. But other than that, I’d like to fight until I’m 40.
Heavy.com: What can we expect to see differently from Jeff Curran in 2010?
Jeff Curran: I’m just going to try to finish fights. I’m going to take all the risks that I didn’t take before and finish the fight. When I feel that things are going my way and I’m doing well, I usually start playing it safe. That old school Jiu-Jitsu mentality of playing it safe is going to change. I’m going to be more aggressive and I’m going to try to finish this guy.
Posted On April 5th, 2010 by Mitch Ciccarelli in Sports
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