CR Exclusive Interview with Daniel Straus

Daniel Straus receiving the $100,000 check after winning Bellator's featherweight tournament.
Photo via MMAWeekly.com

The second best featherweight in Bellator could very well be the best featherweight in Bellator. Daniel Straus, a huge and strong 145er, is the next to challenge current Bellator champion, Pat Curran. With an extremely impressive record of 21-4 including wins over Marlon Sandro, Mike Corey, and Nazareno Malagarie, Straus could very well be the man to take the belt away from Curran.

Despite Curran holding a win over Straus in the past, these are two completely different fighters since that past meeting.

With their second meeting now scheduled for April of this year, Straus sat down with us for an interview.

Check it out:

CR: Going into your fight with Pat Curran in April, what are your plans when it comes to your training camp; what will you be focusing on the most?

Daniel: I sat down with the coaches and I have been studying tape with them and I think, personally, I like the stand up game with him. He has really good boxing but with my stuff, I think I can exploit some of the things that he is weak at. When I get in the gym with my coaches, we have been working really hard on my movement, standing and basically my fundamentals.

CR: How do you think your previous loss to Curran will affect this fight for the both of you when it comes to mentality and preparation?

Daniel: I think the loss helps motivate me and to be honest I don't really think about it. It doesn't really bother me. I don't grieve on it and I don't go back to it as far as looking at my career. It is a loss to me and I've moved on. I learned from that loss. You can tell from my record. After that loss to Pat Curran it did something to me. So, coming into this fight it is just the same thing. I lost to him when I previously fought him. I knew I'd fight him again. Obviously everyone knows he hits hard but I am not scared to get hit by him. So, that’s actually an advantage for me, its keeps me more motivated.

Cr: Great and also, who do you predict will win the current featherweight tournament: Shamalaev or Rad Martinez?

Daniel: Honestly man, it’s really a tossup. Somebody asked me that before and it’s really hard to answer. You know Martinez, a lot of guys count him out but as you can see that in every fight he has ever fought in, he is always in there. He is the guy to beat. As far as Shamalaev, he’s just as tough. He looks like a killer and fights like a killer. So, it’s just going to be a tough fight for the both of them.

CR: Yea it should be a great fight. So, you to be improving each fight, what have you been doing to be able to improve like that?

Daniel: Really just focusing on my flaws. Focus on what I'm good at and what I'm not good at. Going back to the drawing board. It’s not myself that makes me better. It’s my teammates and my coaches. I get in the gym I work hard with my teammates. And when I'm not doing something right I am instructed to do it differently. I will then try and work on that more and more. And I think it has been showing through in my fights.

CR: Absolutely. Also, what will your goals be after you win the title?

                                                                                                 

Daniel: My goal after winning the title is to defend the title and continue to defend the title. I don't necessarily have any goals as far as like with any other organization. Right now, I am just focusing on winning fights. Right now, this is where I'm at and this is where I want to win my fights at. For the future I just see myself as a multiple time championship winner and holding on to the belt in Bellator.

CR: What do you think will go through your mind if you win the title?

Daniel: I did it. You know, I did it. This fight is really important for me. I've come a long way in my career. It’s been only a few years but it has come full circle for me. You know it’s a big stage. It’s also getting bigger with Spike and everything so winning this fight just lets me know to myself that I've made it.

CR: Wow that's really awesome. What strategy do you believe Curran will use against you?

Daniel: I think he will definitely want to pick me apart on the feet. I think he will want to use his boxing advantage. I think he will want to use it for the fact that he's knocked me out before. An advantage that maybe he thinks I will keep that in my head; which really doesn't bother me. I think he'll also use the fact that he's very good on the ground and up against the cage. So, I think he will definitely try and exploit those for sure.

CR: When you finished Alvin Robinson, did it feel good to quiet all of the critics who have complained saying that you don't finish fights?

Daniel: To be honest, no man. It really didn't. I stand behind how I feel, you know what I mean?

CR: Yea for sure.

Daniel: Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of people get what I say wrong. People take me as "Oh he's not a guy that wants to finish" or "he's not looking for the finish"; which is absolutely not true. I'm looking for that knockout. I want that knockout, I want that submission. It feels good to get it but I'm not going to change how I fight for the next man's view. I believe that if I can break a man by going all 15 or 25 minutes then that's what I’m going to do to win my fight. This game is a strategy game. It’s not just a barbaric game, its strategy. If that’s my strategy and it works for me, then that's what I'm going to continue to do.

CR: Yea, sounds very reasonable. Why change what is making you so successful. Anyway, we wish you a ton of luck in your fight against Pat.

Daniel: Thanks a lot man.

Make sure to follow Daniel on Twitter @DanielStraus and support him in his upcoming title bid against Pat Curran on April 4^th. 

Bellator 85 Predictions

Sam's Picks
Main Card

Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn: When looking at Bellator’s lightweight roster, there aren’t many fighters who pose too much of a threat to Chandler’s belt, minus one fighter. That one man is Rick Hawn. Being one of the best judo guys at 155, his strength is rarely outmatched and that always plays a big part in grappling matches, which is inevitably what this is going to be. With Chandler’s wrestling and Hawn’s judo being right on the same level, how much of the grappling department be cancelled out? That is the biggest question heading into this main event. When looking at their standup, they’re both growing and neither are particularly fantastic but the fighter who is growing the fastest is Chandler. He is the more technical and possibly the more powerful striker. That is what it is going to come down to = Chandler via unanimous decision.

Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire: The fireworks that this fight is going to display are going to be amazing. With two extremely dynamic strikers coming together for a title is almost always incredible. When looking at both of these guys, it’s hard to tell who will look better. They both haven’t fought for quite some time and that is always a big factor in the performance of the fighter. What I personally find the most important, though, is their pair of matchups with Joe Warren. Freire lost a very close decision to Warren while Curran put him in a coma (not really, at least I don’t think so) = Curran via 4^th round TKO.

Renato Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats = Sobral via 1^st round submission (choke).

Prelims

Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli =  Petruzelli via unanimous decision.

Jason Lambert vs. Hector Ramirez = Lambert via split decision.

Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton = Newton via 3^rd round TKO.

J.J. Ambrose vs. Brian Warren = Ambrose via 3^rd round decision.

Mike Guymon vs. Savant Young = Guymon via 2^nd round submission.

Joe Williams vs. Jamie Yager = Yager via unanimous decision.

Joe Camacho vs. Aaron Miller = Miller via unanimous decision.

Cleber Luciano vs. Mario Navarro = Navarro via split decision.

Dave's Picks
Main Card

Michael Chandler vs. Rick Hawn: This fight will be a close one. Hawn just finds ways to aggravate and confuse his opponents. Hawn gets his opponents to fight his fight. Chandler is a different breed and by far the hardest guy Hawn has ever faced. What Chandler needs to do is fight his fight which is to go into berserker mode and try and dirty box against the cage and take Hawn down to the ground and pound him out. Hawn will likely be a bit bigger than Chandler but Chandler is going to be much faster. This fight will be close and I wouldn’t be shocked if it went to a decision but I’m going with who I truly think has the best chance to win. = Chandler by submission in round 5.

Pat Curran vs. Patricio Freire: This fight is so hard for me to pick. Two major factors is 1) Curran hasn’t fought in over 10 months. 2) Curran will be much larger than Pitbull. Curran seems to have really perfected his craft as of late. But Pitbull has always been amazing from the get-go. I think Curran needs to keep Pitbull at bay with his reach advantage and then attack the openings; just like his fight against Joe Warren. Pitbull needs to get inside and hope to land bombs. I’m going with the guy who practically murdered Joe Warren. = Curran by split decision.

Renato Sobral vs. Mikhail Zayats = Sobral by submission in round 2.

Prelims

Jacob Noe vs. Seth Petruzelli = Petruzelli by unanimous decision.

Jason Lambert vs. Hector Ramirez = Lambert by split decision.

Atanas Djambazov vs. Emanuel Newton: Newton by TKO in round 2.

J.J. Ambrose vs. Brian Warren = Ambrose by submission in round 1.

Mike Guymon vs. Savant Young = Guymon by unanimous decision.

Joe Williams vs. Jamie Yager = Yager by unanimous decision.

Joe Camacho vs. Aaron Mille = Miller by split decision.

Cleber Luciano vs. Mario Navarro = Luciano by unanimous decision.

MMA Featherweight Rankings: September Edition

 As we at CR continue our rankings, we are now heading into what many consider the weakest division in the UFC: featherweight. The reason many consider this to be the case is due to the lack of top contenders and talent. I truly believe that this isn’t the case. There are plenty of solid contenders at 145 that have yet to challenge for the title.

Let’s check them out:

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

10. Dustin Poirier – At UFC 125, Josh Grispi was going to be fighting for the belt against Jose Aldo in the first ever featherweight title fight in UFC history. Aldo injured his neck and Poirier stepped in. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill. It was very understandable at the time that “The Diamond” was such a monstrous underdog heading into the fight with Grispi. Since that dominating decision win over Grispi, he went on a 3-fight win streak over the likes of Max Holloway, Jason Young, and Pablo Garza. He ended up running into The Korean Zombie in one of the best fights in UFC history, a fight he ultimately lost via 4^th round D’Arce choke. At only 23 years old, Dustin Poirier will inevitably challenge for the featherweight strap.

9. Diego Nunes – Nunes is one of those top guys who is way under appreciated. He is one of the best fighters training out of Nova Uniao (which is saying a lot) and holds one of the most well-rounded games at 145, with a purple belt in BJJ and being mainly known for his striking arsenal. He has now fought four straight top contenders and lost two of them in very close decision losses, especially his fight with Dennis Siver. Nunes deserves more appreciation, I just hope he receives it sooner rather than later.

Photo via MMAWeekly.com

8. Erik Koch – Although his last decision win over Jonathan Brookins was far from spectacular, Erik Koch is one of the best fighters at 145. His KO wins over both Francisco Rivera and Raphael Assuncao further cement that statement. Many people believe that he doesn’t exactly deserve his title shot and I agree, to a certain extent. I believe he has the skills to become a champion in the future, so why rush the opportunity? Let him grow and he will become an even greater fighter.

Photo via MMAFrenzy.com

7. Hatsu Hioki – Many people were really confused when the consensus number-two featherweight in the world decided to turn down a title shot against Jose Aldo. He believed he wasn’t ready, and he was very right. He was then matched up against Ricardo Lamas in what many considered a relatively easy fight for the submission specialist. But, to the surprise of many, Lamas out grappled Hioki en route to a unanimous decision win. Hioki looked amazing in his last win over Bart Palaszewski in Japan, but once he hits American soil, his skills plummet.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

6. Dennis Siver – Siver was on his way to a UFC title shot at 155-lbs. Donald Cerrone took that away with a dominant first round submission win over the German. Siver has always been one of the shorter guys at lightweight, so I personally found the drop to 145-lbs a brilliant idea. Even though he failed to make weight in his first fight at featherweight against Diego Nunes, it was his first fight at featherweight and his first time dropping down (also his Rousimar Palhares body type didn’t help). Diego Nunes is a top guy and that win instantly catapulted him into title contention. His next fight with Eddie Yagin might not get him a title shot, but if he beats Yagin, he will certainly be just one fight away.

There he is!

5. Chan Sung Jung – If The Korean Zombie isn’t one of your favorite fighters; you aren’t a true fan of MMA. Four of his last 5 fights have been “of the year” performances. When he made his Zuffa debut against Leonard Garcia at WE 48, he fought in one of the best fights in MMA history. It ended in controversy with a Garcia win and followed it with a loss to George Roop via 2^nd round KO. Once he made it to the UFC, he really found his grove. He entered the UFC avenging his controversial loss to Garcia with the first ever-performed twister in UFC history. He then pulled of a monstrous upset over Mark Hominick with a 7 second KO, tied for the fastest UFC finish. His most recent win over Dustin Poirier further cemented the fact that he has truly found his grove. He is now most likely going to be fighting the winner of Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo.

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

4. Ricardo Lamas – Ricardo Lamas is one of the strongest fighters in the world at 145-lbs. He had a similar resurgence to that of Chan Sung Jung. Once he made his move to the UFC, his career took off. His last fight at 155, and in the WEC, ended with a 1^st round KO at the hands of Yuri Alcantara. He came back with a vicious 1^st round TKO over Matt Grice. It was brutal to say the least. He then dominated Cub Swanson with a win via 2^nd round arm triangle. The guy looks amazing at 145 and he continued his hot streak with a win over Hatsu Hioki, and he was injured!

Photo via MMAJunkie.com

3. Pat Curran – Bellator’s featherweight champion is easily the best fighter they have under contract at the moment. His last two wins over Marlon Sandro and Joe Warren are both KO of the year performances. The head kick he landed on Sandro was picture perfect and his win over Warren was quite literally, and I’m not exaggerating, the most brutal knockout I have ever seen. He landed a solid 20 unanswered knees and punches to the head. It was also one of the latest stoppages (no, it wasn’t Josh Rosenthal) that I have ever seen. In my opinion, if he were to come over to the UFC, he deserves an immediate title shot.

2. Chad Mendes – Mendes is still the one guy at 145 who has the best chance at defeating Aldo for the belt. Yeah, I know he just lost to that same guy by a first round knockout, but his wrestling is fantastic and that was his first loss, so it will certainly be a learning experience for him. His next fight should definitely be a number-1 contender’s match.

Aldo celebrating with his people.

1.Jose Aldo – Aldo has the potential to become the greatest fight of all time. Seriously. His standup is mind-numbingly fast, accurate, and powerful, and yet we haven’t even gotten a full taste of his ground game. There is no doubt that he is a top-5 pound-for-pound fighter and he will most likely become top-3 in the coming years. I’m terrified of the thought of him moving up to 155.

So what did you guys think? Let us know in the comments on what you either agreed on or disagreed on.