The only thing on the mind of Daniel Straus is regaining the title that once was his. In order to do that, he must continue to follow the path he has been on since he began mixed martial arts roughly 5 years ago.
Evolving, continued improvement, and moving forward has become somewhat of a mantra for Straus.
“After I lost to Pat Curran the first time, I went on a two-year, 12-fight win streak,” Straus said. “After I lost to Pitbull, I went on a two-year, six-fight win streak. So I just look at it as, ‘OK, this is where you were, this is where you’re at and this is where you need to be.’”
“I’m not even close to being done improving. At this stage of my career, I have so much more to learn… I’m improving everywhere. I’m learning new techniques, I’m getting better at the techniques I was already good at.”
The former Bellator featherweight champion is also quick to remind people that he is only getting better, a scary proposition for the rest of the division.
“People have to remember that I was late start in this sport. I started when I was 26 – that’s only four years. I’ve still got another ten years in me. So I’m only going to get better over the next few years but I’m nowhere near my peak.”
Straus recently rebounded from losing his title by knocking out Justin Wilcox early in the first round. This time out, Friday night at Bellator 132, he has a chance to re-capture the gold by defeating Patricio Freire, a man who has topped Straus in the past.
“The biggest tool that I have to utilize in this rematch that I didn’t use the first time is my confidence.” Having the belt before just made me that much hungrier to get it back. Sometimes you have to be able to see what something is like to really be able to appreciate it. The saying goes, you never know what you have until it’s gone, and it’s true. But now that I’ve been there, I understand what it’s like and what it takes to bet there.”
Make no mistake, according to Daniel Straus this fight has nothing to do with evening the score or exacting revenge.
“This fight isn’t about me getting revenge against Patricio or evening up the score. This fight is about me getting my title back, period.” Fans should expect fireworks when they lock us back inside the cage. He wants to keep his belt and I want to get that belt back.”