Daniel Straus hasn’t had an easy road back to active mixed martial arts (MMA) competition.
Straus, who is the reigning Bellator featherweight champion, hasn’t fought since Nov. 2015. He will meet Patricio Freire for the fourth time on April 21 in the main event of Bellator 178. Straus’ last bout was a unanimous decision win over Freire.
The 145-pounder out of Cincinnati, Ohio has been out of action for over a year due to a hand injury. Straus told Luke Thomas on his SiriusXM Rush radio show that he’s happy to be back after having to undergo three surgeries:
“It’s good man. I went through a really, really long layoff. I think it’s been the longest of my career. You know, just rehab after rehab, surgery after surgery. It was rough getting back and then I thought I would be back and then it just kinda never healed. So, it was tough. I’m just blessed to be right here in this position now because it’s time to fight again. I did three surgeries altogether on this hand. They had to fuse some bone together and they put a plate. just a whole bunch of craziness and I thought the first surgery I’d be done.”
