Ex-Bellator champ Daniel Straus on missed weight, cutting dreadlocks, Curran

The buildup to the first defense of Daniel Straus’ Bellator featherweight title was something foreign to him.

The result, on Thursday afternoon in Hammond, Ind., was a brutal weight cut that culminated in him cutting off his dreadlocks – perhaps the closest thing Straus (22-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) has to a trademark – just to try to become official for his title fight against Pat Curran (20-5 MMA, 10-2 BMMA). Ultimately, on Friday, he lost his title to Curran when he had to tap out with just 14 seconds left in the fight at Bellator 112.

The challenger recaptured the title that Straus took from him four months prior as the Curran-friendly Horseshoe Hammond Casino venue not far from his home in Chicago’s north suburbs went the proverbial bananas.

The fight was so good that even Straus couldn’t help but pop to his feet after Curran’s fight-ending rear-naked choke to help the new champ celebrate. Perhaps he knew that their trilogy fight – with Curran going up 2-1 – certainly wouldn’t be the last time they’d meet.

“When it comes to this sport, I give it everything I have. Everything,” Straus said after the fight. “I come up here, and I have physically nothing left to give. I take nothing away from any of my opponents. … I love Pat. He’s like a brother to me. And if you can’t see the emotion inside the ring, I don’t know what you were watching.”

Sure enough, Curran will defend his title next against Patricio Freire. But after that, if he beats “Pitbull,” Straus will be there waiting for another title fight, Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said.

In Friday’s main event, Straus may have learned something about giving everything he had. He slugged back and forth with Curran in a fight that was razor thin. One judge had the bout even going into the fifth round. But otherwise, it was split with one having Straus up 3-1, and the other giving Curran a 3-1 edge.

But giving everything started on Thursday, when he had to shave off his dreadlocks just to try to get closer to the 145-pound max he was struggling to hit. He came in heavy at 145.5 and needed the allotted two extra hours to become official. Knowing he was struggling to hit the weight, a Bellator source said the promotion was left to scramble for possible contingency plans in case he couldn’t make it.

After his loss to Curran, Straus told MMAjunkie that he had no explanation for missing weight on his first attempt, but he never gave a second thought to losing his hair over it.

“I’ve never missed weight on the first try. Never. Ever,” Straus told MMAjunkie. “(Thursday), I just did not have it. If my body didn’t have it, I had to give everything else that I could – and that was my hair. I don’t care about my hair. I don’t care about how I look. I care about getting in this ring and fighting for what I need to fight for.

“If I have to cut off every ounce of hair, (or) toes, fingers, arms, whatever I’ve got to do, I owe it to (Bellator), I owe it to myself, I owe it to my coaches and my teammates to get in here and fight.”

Straus even admitted getting to 145 caused him some physical problems.

“It was rough, but I’ve never had that problem ever,” he said. “I was stuck at (a half-pound) for three hours. I blacked out three times. Not healthy. But I would do whatever I have to do to get in this ring and fight. It’s just the spirit that I have. It’s just the heart that I have. This is my job, and I’ll do what I’ve got to do.”

He did what he had to do on Thursday to get to his first title defense. On Friday, he again did what he had to do – but came up short against Curran, the opponent he now will be linked most closely with for the rest of his career. And both believe they’ll be back in against each other again soon.

Straus said he may have to take a fight or two while waiting for Curran and Freire to settle up. But hair or not, he left little doubt after the loss about his dedication going forward.

“If you don’t think that I’m going to come back harder, you’re a fool. If you think I’m still not looking at Pat Curran, you’re a fool,” he said.

For complete coverage of Bellator 112, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.

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