Former Bellator MMA Featherweight Champion Patricio Freire will be fighting current featherweight champion Daniel Straus for a fourth time at Bellator 178.
When they collide for the fourth time, the former champion plans on delivering a knockout and taking the gold home.
“We usually say that a crazy guy can get in the way of a technical guy,” Freire said to MMA Junkie. “And that’s what happens when I fight Straus. He is also very technical. He trains with a lot of world champions – his boxing coach is a world champion, his kickboxing coach is a world champion, his wrestling coach is an Olympic champ, his jiu-jitsu coach is a multiple-time world champion. He is a world champion. But he’s a little clumsy. It’s like he’s underwater, trying to save himself. That’s kind of how he fights. So that’s a very hard guy to fight. He’s a southpaw, lanky, and very athletic. And that’s challenging. But we have a very tight strategy to halt his impetus. The fight is going to end with Straus unconscious. That’s it.”
Freire currently holds the lead in the series with Straus, winning two of the three fights.
Even though they have fought three times before, the former champion expects surprises from the champion.
“I have some surprises, too,” Freire said. “I’m bringing new skills, I’ve studied new tactics, I have a brand-new strategy for this fourth time. Every time I faced him, it was at a crucial moment. The first time was at the tournament final in 2011, the second was a title defense, and the last time, it was another defense in which he was victorious. So we’re 2-1, in my favor. And I think this will be our last fight. I will end any doubts.”
Bellator 178 takes place on Friday, April 21 from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut with Daniel Straus and Patricio Freire headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event.
