Bellator bringing MMA to The Venue

After three shows in Chicago in less than three years, Bellator Fighting Championships is venturing south for a world title fight.

The Chicago-based company, which has positioned itself as the No. 2 mixed martial arts promotion in the country, will hold a nationally televised fight card March 9 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond. It will be Bellator's first show in Indiana and the most prominent MMA show in The Venue's history. Tickets for the event go on sale Friday at The Venue and Ticketmaster.

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney has been working to expand the promotion's reach outside of Chicago proper. Bellator's last two Chicago shows took place at the Chicago Theatre; its first was at the Aragon Ballroom on the city's North Side.

The March event finally came together after two years of loose conversations with Horseshoe and the Caesar's Entertainment Corp.

"We've been working diligently to try to find (the next Chicago-area show)," Rebney said. "We were looking for something that still could pull from the Chicago market, but didn't put us literally right downtown like the Chicago Theatre. They were good people, and they're a pleasure to work with, but it just felt like we needed to find someplace that really fit the mold of what we've done real successfully around the country, which is casino-based, and Hammond ended up being a great fit."

A featherweight championship fight will headline the show, the main card of which will air on MTV2, Bellator's cable home. The challenger, Pat Curran, of north suburban Crystal Lake, is plenty familiar with Northwest Indiana. Curran last fought in Hammond in November 2008 at the Civic Center — and suffered the first loss of his career to current UFC fighter Darren Elkins, of Hobart.

Curran said that loss, in just the fifth fight of his career, might as well have been a lifetime ago.

"Even though the last time (in Hammond) I didn't win, I'm a completely different fighter and I've learned a lot since that loss," Curran, the cousin of UFC bantamweight Jeff Curran, told The Times. "I've won two tournaments at two different weight classes, I've beat some of the best fighters in the world, I'm a young fighter and I have a long career ahead of me, but beating Joe Warren is going to prove that to anyone who doubts me."

Though Crystal Lake and Hammond are separated by 70 miles, Curran said he still gets to treat it as a "Chicago fight."

"I was pretty excited (to get the news)," said Curran, who was told by Rebney last week when and where the fight would be. "I'm going to be in my hometown, my friends and family and teammates are going to be able to watch, and I don't have to travel."

Along with Curran's fight against Warren, the main card will feature the quarterfinals of Bellator's featherweight tournament, which will play out over the course of its 12-week sixth season. The winner of that tournament will get a shot at the Warren-Curran winner for the Bellator featherweight title later this year.

In addition, The Times has learned from sources with knowledge of the negotiations that Indianapolis-based heavyweight Sean McCorkle, a former UFC fighter, is expected to appear on the preliminary card against Richard White. Josh Shockley, of Hobart, will make his third Bellator appearance when he faces Indianapolis-based firefighter and former UFC lightweight Shamar Bailey on the prelims.

Rebney said he expects to fill additional preliminary card bouts with other fighters from Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago side of the state line — and is anticipating the card having more fights on it than any other show in Bellator's 60-card history.

"There are some really talented fighters that have come out of the area," Rebney said. "Our talent development team has been working the last 30 days to get the right guys on the show so we can have an explosive event that sells really well in that market. We may bounce up to 10 or more fights for the show, just so we can accommodate more Northwest Indiana and Chicago fighters, as well. We'll probably have more fights on this show than any other fight we've ever done."

Shockley made his debut with the promotion last March, losing with a first-round submission. He rebounded in November at Bellator 57 in Ontario, with a 35-second submission victory.

John Kolosci, of Portage, also has a Bellator fight on his resume from the promotion's last stop in Chicago in August 2010.