Daniel Straus
Featherweight Daniel Straus (19-4) has fought his way into the final of his second straight Bellator tournament and will face Marlon Sandro this Friday (May 11, 2012) in the main event of Bellator 68.
This will be Straus’s second attempt at capturing the $100,000 check and a shot at Bellator gold.
Straus lost to Patricio Freire a year ago in the Season Four finals and vows this year will be different, that this year he’s fighting for more than himself, he’s fight for his family and friends.
As a guest on “The MMA Show with Maruo Ranallo“, Straus talked about his loss to the ‘Pitbull’ last year, his fight win Sandro, and his desire for a rematch with current Bellator champ Pat Curran.
“If I got the chance to fight Pat again it would definitely go differently than the first time we met,” Straus told Mauro Ranallo on The MMA Show. “I faced him early on in my career and I’ve got a lot better. When I first fought him I didn’t have the coaching that I have now and I wasn’t the fighter I am now. I’ve stepped up my training and I’m a completely different fighter.”
….
“I need this. I don’t need it just for myself, I need it for my friends, family, teammates, coaches, fans, supporters, everyone that’s helped me,” he said. “When I go inside that cage and fight it’s not just me, it’s a group of people fighting through one person. We had a teammate, Chris Smith, pass not too long and that memory of him, it definitely fuels me to get in there and win.
“It’s going to be in my heart, man.”
Also on Wednesday’s podcast was former UFC welterweight Chris Lytle, comedian Joey Diaz, and Ontario Athletic Comission member Richard Hustwick.