Derek Campos has lost three fights in a row heading into Bellator’s featherweight grand prix, but the 31-year-old doesn’t feel any less confident.

Campos (19-9 MMA, 8-7 BMMA) returns to action Saturday against Daniel Straus (26-8 MMA, 12-5 BMMA) in the opening round of the tourrnament. at Bellator 226, which takes place at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. The main card, including Campos-Straus, streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

After he won four straight fights starting in 2016, Campos was knocked out by Patricky Freire in February 2018. A split decision loss to Sam Sicilia in December 2018 was followed by a TKO loss to Pedro Carvalho in May.

“I’ve gone back and listed the mistakes I’ve made,” Campos told MMA Junkie. “I’ve thought about the circumstances surrounding those losses. I evaluated them and put them behind me. I’m moving forward, but I’ve definitely given it thought as to what I need to do to change my outcomes.”

Campos is one of 16 Bellator featherweights who have a crack at $1 million and championship gold. “The Stallion” said he’s glad to even be participating in the tournament and emphasized his desire to lay everything on the line.

“I’m 100 percent honored to even be a part of it, so to have the honor of setting the stage in San Jose, to set the bar, it’s almost an overwhelming feeling,” Campos said. “It’s pure happiness. I always wanted to be in a grand prix or the highest level, competing against the best guys. Here I am. Here’s my chance to shine and I’m going to do everything I can to make the most of it.”

Campos spoke respectfully of Straus. The former featherweight champ is on the heels of a tremendous recovery from a serious motorcycle accident in December 2017. After Straus regained his ability to walk, he began to train once again. Training led to fighting. Against all odds, Straus made a successful return at Bellator 219 in March when he submitted Shane Kruchten in the first round.

Campos was impressed by his upcoming opponent’s return and thinks the best Straus is yet to come. As a result, Campos said he is preparing accordingly.

“Shoot, I’m just not counting Daniel out,” Campos said. “I’m looking for the best Daniel yet because he came back hungry. You can see it in his last fight. I’m just expecting the best Daniel Straus yet.”

Despite the difficult task at hand, Campos didn’t shy away from a confident prediction. Even though injuries carry more weight in a tournament format, Campos said fans can expect him to bring the same energy and violence into the cage Saturday night.

“They can expect to see a beautiful, technical brawl,” Campos said. “We’re going to swing some leather. Neither one of us are going to hold back. We’ve got everything to gain going forward, so we’ve got to put it all on the line. I know in my heart I’m going in there to win.

“He’s going to have to kill me if he wants to get past me. I mean that in every literal sense.”