NHL's Chicago Blackhawks honor champ Pat Curran ahead of Bellator 95

Ahead of Pat Curran’s headlining spot in this week’s Season 8 finale, the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks honored the Bellator featherweight champion.

At this past Friday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, the Blackhawks introduced Curran to fans at Chicago’s United Center. Between the second and third periods, he also took shots at the goal for charity.

“It’s not usually – I want to say – my comfort zone, but I did a little practicing last night for the first time, said Curran, who trains with Team Curran in nearby Crystal Lake, Ill. “I picked it up a little bit, and I made the third shot tonight.”

On Thursday in the Spike TV headliner, Curan (18-4 MMA, 8-1 BFC) , who’s ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA featherweight rankings, takes on recent tournament winner Shahbulat Shamhalaev (12-1-1 MMA, 3-0 BFC) at Bellator 95. The title fight, which takes place at Ovation Hall at Revel Atlantic City in New Jersey, came about after Daniel Straus (21-4 MMA, 7-1 BFC) bowed out of the Curran fight with a broken hand.

For the latest on Bellator 95, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.