Straus looks to put another ‘Pitbull’ on his back

The "Pitbull" Brothers got off to a bad start last week with Patricky "Pitbull" Freire dropping his Season 4 lightweight title fight against Michael Chandler. This week it's his brother's turn to shoot for a Bellator Tourney title, but if Patricio can't wrestle, he'll probably find the same fate Patricky found last week. Patricio meets Daniel Straus in the Season 4 Bellator featherweight tournament final tomorrow at Bellator 45 in Lake Charles, La.

Chandler, a former Div. 1 wrestler, nullified Patricky's dynamic striking by dumping him to the ground and wearing him down. Daniel Straus, a huge 145-pounder, has the ability to do the same thing to Patricio.

"I'm not worried about Daniel Straus' wrestling ability, specifically. I know he has good wrestling, but he's not a pure wrestler," Freire said. "He's not limited by his wrestling, so I have to be prepared for everything and anything, and I will be."

Freire (16-1) has been the star of the tournament with his highlight reel knockouts.

Straus, a cardio machine with a strong chin, is a helluva test for the 23-year-old Pitbull.{ysp:more}

"I think Patricio Pitbull is a tough guy, but just like anyone — just like me — he has some holes in his game. The majority of my fights have been wars, and I don't expect anything less out of this fight with Patricio. He's going to be looking to beat my A-game, and I'm going to be looking to beat his A-game, so that's what it's going to come down to," Straus said. "I definitely feel like I'm the superior wrestler in this fight with Patricio. If he can't stop my takedowns or if he can't take me down, then that's just his bad. If he can't stop me from doing what I want to do, then that's just something he's going to have to work on."

Straus, 26, has won 12 straight fights, all coming in the late 23 months.

The card on MTV2 (9 p.m. ET) also features Sam Alvey against former Strikeforce fighter Karl Amoussou and Richard Hale against Christian M'Pumbu.

BELLATOR 45 MAIN CARD:

Christian M'Pumbu (199.4 lbs.) vs. Richard Hale (204.4)

Patricio Freire (145.8) vs. Daniel Straus (145)

Sam Alvey (184.6) vs. Karl Amoussou (185)

UNDERCARD:

John Hill (254.8.) vs. Shawn Jordan (255.2)

Nicolae Cury (171) vs. Luis Santos (171)

Tim Ruberg (185.4) vs. Mike Fleniken (185)

Joseph Abercrombie (139.8) vs. Ben Parpart (139)