Former Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus will look to get back into title contention on Friday night when he meets Henry Corrales on the main card of Bellator 138.
Straus (23-6) enters this fight following a submission defeat in January against current Bellator featherweight champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire and he has dropped two of his last three fights.
Both of those defeats came in title fights and both were by rear-naked choke submission. Both defeats came with less that fifteen seconds left in a round and Straus has the mentality that he does not dwell on fights no matter what the outcome is.
“Every fight that I have motivates me. Win, lose, or draw and every fight that I have I leave in the past,” Straus told The MMA Report. “I am over it. I lost that fight and I move on. I have looked at the fight and I have seen what I did wrong. I noticed what I was doing well and what I was doing wrong. I use that as my advantage, but the one thing that I won’t do is dwell. I am not going to dwell on any of this. I fought the fight. I lost the fight. Time to get to the next one.”
When his fight with Corrales was announced, many people in the mixed martial arts community were surprised by the booking. Corrales is an undefeated prospect and he is getting a big step up in competition against Straus. The media and fans can have their thoughts on the fight booking, but what went through the mind of Straus when he was offered the fight?
“I was nervous. A guy like that — the thing about it is that I look at things different,” Straus explained. “I have said this a few times. It’s not like anyone is calling to do me any favors. If you line me up a fight, I instantly look at it like why him? He is dangerous and there is something about him that makes him dangerous. My eyes are wide open. I do not care if he has fought in another organization. I do not care if he has not fought in a big organization or whatever. There is some reason why they have lined him up with me and you just don’t get matchups like that. He is very dangerous. He is 12-0. He can brawl, bang, grapple, and submit. Obviously, people think that is my weakest point and one of his strong suits.”
Could another dangerous aspect of this fight be the mentality of Corrales heading into this fight? Straus will likely be a huge favorite in the betting lines and nearly everyone will be picking him in this fight. Does Straus feel Corrales is dangerous because hardly anyone will be picking him to win?
“That is one to and that adds extra pressure to me. That adds very little pressure on him.” he said. “Not that it’s added pressure on me since I do not think that way. People see it as he has to win. There is not reason why he should not win. It’s just one of those things you have to get over. I am coming in to do my job. Whether you are 40-0 or 2-25, the kid has something good about him. He knows how to get it done and he knows how to win.”
“I have proven that I can get it done and get a win. So let’s see what happens and he has not fought in Bellator or a bigger organization yet. At one point, I had not fought in a major organization or a big place yet. We have all been in that spot. We have to make our names somehow. We all have to start somewhere. This is where he is starting and unfortunately, it’s against me.”