XFO 34 Curran vs. Hori Preview

Tomorrow night the XFO puts on their biggest event as Jeff “Big Frog” Curran( 32-12-1) returns to the promotion that he started as he goes head to head with Japanese bantamweight sensation Tomohiko Hori (13-7-5). Hori vs. Curran headlines the 34th installment of the XFO at the Lakemoor Banquet Facility in Lakemoor, Illinois. This is a huge fight for both combatants as they each have a lot to gain from the win. It’s a fight which will catapult one fighter into bigger and better heights, while the loser will have to go back to the drawing board.

Jeff Curran despite losing 4 of his last 5 is coming off a first round TKO win over Dustin Neace at Strikeforce Fedor vs. Rogers here in the Chicagoland area less than a month ago. Curran came into the fight looking like a man possessed as he punished Dustin Neace before the referee waived the fight off less than 2 minutes in. Jeff Curran has not fought at an XFO since Nov 2006 where he defeated current WEC featherweight Rafael Assuncao by majority decision. This is a homecoming fight of sorts for Curran as he started XFO over 5 years ago. He’s returning home for what many believe will be his farewell fight in the Chicagoland area. For the past several years, Jeff fought in the WEC’s featherweight and bantamweight divisions taking on the likes of Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, and Takeya Mizugaki. I find it to be pretty compelling that Mizugaki and Hori are training partners. Make no mistake Jeff Curran is looking to make his return to his own show a successful one.

Tomohiko Hori is an unknown quantity here in the United States. He has fought predominately in Japan for the ZST and Deep Organizations. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Masakazu Imanari in August. Taking someone like Imanari to a decision is not something to be frowned upon. Make no mistake Tomohiko Hori is ready to go to war tomorrow night. As previously mentioned Hori trains with Takeya Mizugaki who defeated Jeff Curran at WEC 42 in August by what was viewed by many to be a controversial decision. Although Hori is only 26 years of age, he has fought some quality completion in the Orient.

Let’s take a look at some of the keys to the fight.

Striking

Jeff Curran is a terrific boxer having some professional boxing experience behind him. He has been with his boxing coach Doug Mango since the beginning and the two’s chemistry is undeniable. He also works with world renowned trainer Shawn Tompkins formerly of Xtreme Coutre now the head of Team Thompkins at the Tapout Training Center in Las Vegas. Even though Jeff has not made it a point to put a lot of guys to sleep in recent fights, his power is there. On occasion he has shown a propensity to rock guys and put them in bad positions. The knock against Jeff is he has not been able to unleash his hands the way he would like. Take for example the Joseph Benavidez fight. Jeff would be the first one to tell you that for some reason or another he hasn’t been able to fully pull the trigger. Against Dustin Neace, he did that. Is it a sign of things to come? We’ll find out on Saturday night.

Tomohiko Hori seems to be a pretty well rounded striker having a little under half of his wins by TKO or KO. We have not been able to see much of Hori here in the States, but from the film watched and observing some of his training sessions over the past week Hori is pretty relaxed and does hit with power. The 26-year old seems to be pretty relaxed when striking and looks for openings. He’s calculated and when given the chance can hurt you.

Edge-Curran

Ground- Jeff Curran is renowned for his black belt under Pedro Sauer. Jeff is extremely talented on the ground as he competed in the ADCC earlier this year. Competing in the ADCC is an honor all to itself. Jeff has been able to put a lot of top guys in dangerous positions on the ground ala Urijah Faber and Takeya Mizugaki. Although both survived those positions, it’s not easy to do that to Mizugaki and Faber.

Hori-Again, we don’t know much about the ground game which he possesses. Talking with his manager Shu Hirata, Shu claims Tomohiko is comfortable on his back and on the ground. It’s not going to be easy for Jeff to finish Hori on the ground. I can bet Hori has been working with Mizugaki focusing on escapes and ways to defend Curran’s active guard.

Edge-Curran

Intangibles- This is a fight Jeff Curran needs to win. He is looking to get back to the WEC or other top level promotions such as Strikeforce and Dream. Every fight for Curran is his Super Bowl. Jeff Curran’s career has been outstanding. The Big Frog’s been ranked in the top ten of the featherweight and bantamweight divisions and is a true mma pioneer here in the Midwest. A loss for Curran would be devastating. He is fighting in the show he helped to build from the ground up. There is going to be a tremendous amount of support from his family, friends, and students. Failure is not an option for Curran. He realizes he has to go out there against Hori and look sensational while getting the W.

Tomohiko Hori has everything to gain and nothing to lose in this fight. He knows all the pressure is going to be squarely on the shoulders of Curran. A fighter of Hori’s caliber with this line of thinking is very dangerous. Hori can take some chances he wouldn’t normally take, because he is a huge underdog in this fight. A loss for Hori would be detrimental to his record, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. A win for Hori means he would have beaten Jeff Curran in his hometown. The mma world would be buzzing if that were to transpire. Hori has power in his hands and the fact he can gamble a little more than usual makes this a very compelling fight.

Prediction- It’s the return of the Big Frog to the local show for possibly one last time. It’s a homecoming but at the same time, it’s a farewell. A victory for Jeff would probably signal the end of him fighting locally and his return to the big stage. This is his Super Bowl. Every fight means so much to him at this stage in his career. Jeff knows that. His training camp has been difficult and he looks to be in the best shape of his life. Tomohiko Hori will be a very tough opponent, but he doesn’t have the experience nor all the tools Curran possesses. Expect to see some good exchanges early, and then towards the latter part of round 1 and throughout round 2, Curran will put on a ground clinic on his way to a late second round triangle choke victory over Tomohiko Hori.

Jeff Curran late 2nd round submission win

Doors open at 6pm
First Fight at 7:30
Lakemoor Banquet Facility
Lakemoor, Illinois

By Ray Flores