Daniel Straus defends Bellator title against Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 178

Daniel Straus is back.

The Bellator MMA featherweight champion will make his long-awaited return to the cage against longtime rival Patricio Freire in the main event of Bellator 178 on April 21 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. it was announced at a press conference Friday before Bellator 172 weigh-ins in San Jose.

This will be the fourth time the two men will meet in Bellator.

Straus (25-6) has not fought since beating Freire by unanimous decision at Bellator 145 in November 2015. Injuries have kept the Cincinnati native out of action since then. Straus, 32, is a two-time Bellator featherweight champion. He and “Pitbull” have fought three times before, with Freire winning two.

Freire (25-4) held the Bellator title in 2014 an 2015 before losing it to Straus. The Brazilian is one of the most decorated and tenured fighters in Bellator history, with the promotion since 2010. Freire, 29, fell to Benson Henderson in a lightweight bout via TKO last August when he broke his leg in the middle of the fight. Other than that, “Pitbull” has won eight of the last nine.

No other fights have been announced yet for Bellator 178.