Jeff Curran out, Dillard Pegg now meets Sergio Pettis in RFA 8 title fight

Jeff Curran‘s hope for making one more run at a return to the UFC – this time in the flyweight division – has been put on hold.

Curran (33-15-1) was scheduled to meet Sergio Pettis (7-0) in the championship headliner of Resurrection Fighting Alliance 8 next week. But the organization recently announced he has pulled out of the inaugural RFA flyweight title fight. With Curran out, Dillard Pegg (5-1) has stepped up in his place.

RFA 8 takes place June 21 at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, and the main card airs on AXS TV.

“It’s unfortunate that Jeff Curran had to pull out of the fight on short notice, but this happens, even at the highest levels of MMA,” RFA President Ed Soares stated. “As an organization that models itself after the UFC, we had to move forward and find a worthy replacement to give the fans an exciting title fight that is just as compelling as the original bout.”

The Ohio-based Pegg has finishes in all four of his wins, including a submission victory and a pair of first-round knockouts so far in 2013. He’ll try to make it a 5-0 start to the year and add a belt to his resume at the same time. Just this past week, he picked up a 42-second submission win.

Pettis, the 19-year-old brother of UFC featherweight title challenger Anthony Pettis, is perfect in his career so far, which included a win at RFA 4.

“Pegg … like Sergio Pettis, is a second degree black belt in taekwondo,” Soares stated. “He’s fast, aggressive, and looks for the finish. This is a huge opportunity for Pegg, and I believe this is going to be a great main event for the first ever RFA flyweight title.”

Curran recently spoke to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) and said he hoped he can get one final shot in the UFC by dropping to the 125-pound division. That dream now has to wait.

The latest RFA 8 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (AXS TV, 10 p.m. ET)

• Dillard Pegg vs. Sergio Pettis – for inaugural flyweight title
• Champ Jared Downing vs. Lance Palmer - for featherweight title
• Keoni Koch vs. Pedro Munhoz
• Mike Rhodes vs. Benjamin Smith
• James Barber vs. Chinzo Machida
• Dan Moret vs. Jose Pacheco

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised)

• Matthew Gauthier vs. Zak Ottow
• Agostino DeNatal vs. TBA

For more on RFA 8, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Jeff Curran)