Former Bellator featherweight champion Daniel Straus has been arrested and charged with a single felony count of aggravated battery after he allegedly beat and stabbed his partner.
Official records show that Straus has been detained in the Broward County Sheriff’s office since February 6 after the incident on January 21. According to the reports, an argument between the two partners turned violent at the victims’ place of work. His bail is set at $100,000.
In a preliminary hearing on Saturday, the judge overseeing the hearing refused to reduce the bail amount pretexting that “If he’s a professional athlete he can get a bail for $10,000.”
Straus allegedly followed the victim to her car. The victim tried to separate herself from him but he followed her in the car. As they both exited the vehicle the situation escalated when Straus shoved her and she shoved him back.
The alleged victim told the police that after receiving a text from Straus saying that he was at her apartment and fearing he could destroy her belongings, she drove to Straus’ apartment to retrieve a spare key.
Straus allegedly became angry and started pushing the victim when she told him that she wanted to be “done with the situation”. According to the alleged victim, Straus told her “You don’t know me, I’ll stab you.” while indicating that he had a knife. As he pushed her outside of his apartment, she said “You’re big and bad. What are you gonna do, stab me?”.
According to the victim, Straus proceeded to stab her in the abdomen with an unknown sharp object. He then followed her briefly as she fled before going back to his apartment. She later drove to a neighbor’s house and was taken to a hospital.
The victim declined to speak to the police regarding the incident, but she later agreed to cooperate and press charges as she feared Straus would harm her if she didn’t.
Since then, Bellator came out with a prepared statement regarding the incident. According to MMAFighting, the company assured that they were aware of the situation and has been in contact with Straus’ team. They nonetheless declined to make any further comment.
According to the affidavit, Straus showed up unannounced to the alleged victim’s place of work after they argued via text over “infidelity issues in their relationship.” They went to her car in the parking lot, and at one point she got into the vehicle to separate herself, only to have Straus follow her. After exiting, Straus followed her, and the argument allegedly turned violent when he shoved her and she shoved him back.
Per the affidavit, the alleged victim then got back in her car to drive away, and that’s when Straus struck her on the right side of the face and then struck her multiple times, causing her to fall to the ground. She fought back, and Straus eventually left in his vehicle.
Straus is a two-time featherweight champion with Bellator. He lost his title in 2017 to Patricio Freire via submission in a rematch. Straus has won the first fight in 2015 to win the title. His last fight was in September of 2019 when he lost in the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix opening round against Derek Campos.
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At 36 years old and with a 26-9 record, Straus still has some mileage. But this recent incident might signify the end of his professional career. This isn’t Straus’ first run-in with the law. Back in 2013, he was arrested and faced charges of driving with a suspended license and possession of multiple illicit drugs including more than 20 grams of marijuana and MDMA.
He has also faced a major setback after a motorcycle incident derailed his career in 2017. He was sidelined for 17 months before making his return to the Bellator cage.
