Shahbulat Shamhalaev steps in, faces Pat Curran at Bellator 95

Pat Curran has a new opponent for his next Bellator featherweight title defense.

With season six featherweight tournament Daniel Straus sidelined with a broken hand, Shahbulat Shamhalaev will now get the shot at Bellator 95 on April 4 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney tweeted the news on Wednesday.

Shamhalaev (12-1-1) is fresh off winning the Bellator season seven tourney with a second-round knockout of Rad Martinez on Feb. 21 in Utah. Shamhalaev has won six straight bouts and eight of his career wins are via KO or TKO.

Curran (18-4), meanwhile, is coming off a split-decision win over Patricio Freire in the first live Bellator fight on Spike on Jan. 17. He's won five straight fights since dropping to featherweight.