Bellator 178's Patricio Freire expects champ Straus to come in well-prepared, leave unconscious

When ex-champ Patricio Freire meets current featherweight titleholder Daniel Straus on Friday, it will have been almost a year and a half since Straus last stepped into the cage.

Straus’ (25-6 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) most recent affair was the 2015 encounter that had him leaving with a decision win, “Pitbull” Freire’s (25-4 MMA, 13-4 BMMA) belt and the severely broken hand that would sideline him for all of 2016. Freire, in turn, has fought twice since. But while some may factor in the champ’s long inactivity when placing their bets for Bellator 178’s headliner, that’s something “Pitbull” himself is not really counting on.

After all, he can speak from experience when he says that being away from the cage doesn’t necessarily translate into poor performances.

“I believe he’ll be very prepared, because he’s a very athletic guy,” Freire told MMAjunkie. “He may have lost a little bit of fight timing, but I don’t know to which extent that’s going to influence things. For instance, with me, at some point I spent 22 months without fighting due to an injury. I returned against Pat Curran in 2013 (at Bellator 85), and it was a great fight. I lost, but many thought I’d won. It was a split decision, and we fought for five rounds.

“So I was hurt, getting back from injury, but I put on a high-level fight against someone who’d been active and it didn’t hurt me too much. I lost very little timing, because I’d been sparring a lot at the gym. So, if he’s been doing the same, I believe he’s going to come back well-prepared, he’s going to be the same Straus as before, it won’t be a problem, and we’ll put on a good fight.”

The featherweight title bout headlines Bellator 178, which takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The event’s main card airs live on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

There’s also the fact that Freire is, himself, coming into Friday’s bout off an injury – in his case, a serious broken fibula suffered during a lightweight affair with former UFC champ Benson Henderson at this past August’s Bellator 160. While the situation ended up not requiring surgical intervention, it carried the extra sting of bringing a TKO loss in a scrap that “Pitbull” had been dominating.

Although Freire’s leg healed fairly quickly, he took his time when it came to getting back into training. And, during the 45 days he spent in a wheelchair, he focused on the mental aspects of the game – such as watching videos and  strategizing. That time, he recounts, ended up serving a bigger purpose to his overall recovery.

“I did notice that since I was sleeping better,” Freire said. “Without the physical stress of daily training, some of my lingering injuries went away. And within 15 to 20 days (of being back to training), I was back at peak shape. I would have been ready to fight as early as December or January. Now I kick at full strength. I have no fear. No injury can stop me. I’ll be capturing the belt.”

Freire is, of course, no stranger to Straus. After all, Friday’s encounter will take them to a rare mark in MMA: a tetralogy. There are two reasons, Freire says, why they are meeting again. The first is the fact that their three previous encounters – at Bellator 45, Bellator 132 and Bellator 145 – were “wars.” And the second is that, considering his spot in the division, a title fight seemed only logical.

The belt just so happened to still be with Straus. At this point, Freire ponders, they’re quite familiar with each other. But if Straus is expecting the same guy he’s met before, he might be in for a little surprise – hopefully, one that renders a fifth encounter unnecessary.

“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. ”

If “Pitbull” gets his way, he sees a few options in his own division. He cited, for instance, the Bellator 177 matchup between Daniel Weichel and John Teixeira – which ended in a split call for Weichel – as one that could elect the next challenger, not to mention names like James Gallagher, A.J. McKee and Emmanuel Sanchez.

Outside of his division, however, there’s another fighter Freire has made no secret of his desire to face. That’s lightweight champ Michael Chandler, who knocked out Patricio’s brother, Patricky, at Bellator 157 this past June.

Having since rebounded with a statement knockout over former UFC champ Josh Thomson, Patricky is certainly back to being a strong name in the title line. And Patricio, in turn, is in no way willing to disrupt that. But his itch to school “idiot” Chandler, now set to face Brent Primus at Bellator 180, has nothing to do with belts.

“Sooner or later, my brother will be champion of that division,” Freire said. “My fight will Michael Chandler doesn’t depend on the belt, to me that’s a piece of can. That belt is only valuable around my brother’s waist. What I want, with Michael Chandler, is his head. I want to make that clear. I don’t want his belt, I want his head.”

In any case, first Freire needs to get past Friday’s encounter, and that’s one that has his full attention. After all, as awkward as he thinks Straus’ game is, Freire also understands that it’s a dangerous one.

“We usually say that a crazy guy can get in the way of a technical guy,” Freire said. “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.”

After so many years, there seems to be a natural level of respect when the top featherweights speak about each other. But that, as Freire’s fight prediction makes crystal clear, only goes so far.

“The fight is going to end with Straus unconscious,” Freire concluded. “That’s it.”

Fore more on Freire’s preparation, check out the series of video blogs he’s been posting on the “Pitbull” brothers’ official youtube channel. Monday’s vlog, with English subtitles, can be seen below.

And for more on Bellator 178, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.