We have a new Bellator featherweight champion.
Daniel Straus went to war with Patricio “Pitbull” Freire for 25 minutes before grabbing a unanimous decision to earn belt at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Friday night.
Despite a hand injury in the first round, Straus came away with a unanimous nod from the judges with scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47.
RELATED > Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock 3, Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000 Planned for Bellator
“There’s a lot of people out here that deserve this belt more than me,” Straus said. “I broke my hand in the first round … and my striking wasn’t really getting there.”
The two featherweights went back and forth for much of the fight. Struas had a big knockdown in the second round, while Freire was a prime position to finish the fight while securing his opponent’s back late in the bout.
In the end, however, Straus was declared the victor and stopped his opponent’s seven-fight winning streak. Also, he avenged his two previous losses to Freire.
In the co-main event, Will Brooks showed his wrestling was superior to that of his opponent, Marcin Held, and retained his Bellator lightweight title.
The win was Brooks’ second in a row since earning the title from Michael Chandler at Bellator 131. The victory is the champion’s eighth in a row.
Chandler was also on the card and finished Dave Rickels in the second frame with a technical knockout at 3:05 of the round. Other main card winners included Bobby Lashley with his finish of James Thompson, and Emmanuel Sanchez with a split decision victory over Justin Lawrence.
Image courtesy of Bellator MMA
Follow Erik Fontanez on Twitter: @Nahmles
