Former Bellator MMA Featherweight Champion Daniel Straus is back in action at Bellator 219, facing Shane Kruchten in a lightweight division affair.
This bout will mark Straus? return from a life threatening motorcycle accident, but Straus says self belief is what helped him on the long road back to fighting.
?For me, it was just?do what I got to do, you know what I mean? I knew it was going to be tough, I knew it was gonna be a (long) road (back). It was just believing in myself that I would get it done,? says Straus in an exclusive interview with Fightful?s James Lynch.
A returning Straus hasn?t competed since Bellator 184 in October of 2017, where he suffered a third round submission loss to Emmanuel Sanchez.
One huge positive for Straus was that the former champion had a lot of support from Bellator MMA while recovering from the motorcycle accident.
?They?ve been good, no one?s really pressured me for anything. They helped me when I needed help, like anybody else?out of sight, out of mind. Looking forward to progressing with the guys in the weight class, with the tournaments and the other fights. Which I respect, I don?t need anybody to babysit me or anything like that. They?ve been great, when I was healthy?they reached back out. They reached out to me and we?ve been moving forward on there with my career, while I was out?it wasn?t like I spoke with anyone a lot of the time or anything. But they were always there to back me or support me in any way,? says Straus.
Bellator 219 takes place on Friday, March 29 from the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California with Saad Awad and Brandon Girtz headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on the Paramount Network.