Bellator got their hands on one of Glory’s flashiest talents, Karateka and kickboxer Raymond Daniels. He’ll make his promotional debut at Bellator Kickboxing’s first ever event on April 16th in Italy.
Bellator is expanding. Not only are they stepping outside their normal US borders for their upcoming April 16th show in Torino, Italy, but they’re doing it with an all new product to show off alongside their normal lineup of MMA fights. Bellator Kickboxing will hold it’s first ever card this weekend, and it will be headlined by Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef. Manhoef is a familiar name in the MMA and kickboxing world and lined up for a middleweight title shot as well, but he’s not the only name that might be known to US fight fans.
Further down the card is Raymond “The Real Deal” Daniels, a Glory kickboxing staple for the past several years, who cut his teeth in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League. Glory and Bellator had a brief partnership, linking up for Bellator’s Dynamite 1 card back in September of 2015. It didn’t last long, with Glory taking it’s product to ESPN in 2016, but when the two promotions parted ways, Daniels decided to stay with Spike TV and Bellator.
The flashy sport karate based fighter has made a name for himself as a highlight reel staple and is looking to show off his form on Bellator’s inaugural kickboxing event. He sat down with Bloody Elbow to talk about his career so far, why he made the jump to Bellator, and what the future might hold.
You were a police officer for about 8 years, in Long Beach, California, why did you leave? Was it just for kickboxing?
“There’s a few other things. Definitely I got a lot on my plate to motivate me to move on in life. One of the main reasons was my son. I’m a single father, so just to be able to have that opportunity to spend more time with my son. It was just one of those things that I wanted to do. Being a police officer was a goal of mine that I set when I was very young. I became a police officer when I was 21. And then it also allowed me to be able to teach martial arts full time. I was going to be able to help people out a little bit more, which I was able to do, but as a martial arts instructor I’m able to help out kids, adults, families. Make sure that they never end up in the back seat of a police car. So, being a martial arts instructor is a lot more rewarding. Plus it allows me to spend endless amounts of time with my son, which is one of those things that’s really important to me.”
Is it more stressful to fight to pay the bills than it was to be a cop?
“A lot of people look at fighting as a violent type of thing, but it’s an expression of yourself. And me as a martial artist, I’ve trained in the martial arts since I can remember. I usually just say, ‘since five.’ So, that’s about 30 years that I remember actually training martial arts. And the fighting aspect just gives me the opportunity to come over and show my craft to the world. So actually, it’s really fun for me to actually do it.
“Just imagine if you make some type of sculptures and then someone comes out with an event so you’re able to show these sculptures. And you’ve been working on these sculptures since you were a kid. It gives me an opportunity to show a skill set that I’ve been working on since I can remember to the world, on that national and world level. It’s nothing better than doing what you love and loving what you do for a living. I love to teach martial arts and I am fortunately blessed enough to be good enough to have the skills and ability to do it on the world level.”
Bellator’s obviously not just about kickboxing. You’ve tried MMA before, would you consider trying it again?
“The door is always open for it. Back then I was younger and I was… You know when you’re a young man and your parents try, or people around you, try and tell you different things. And when I went into that particular round, I just was not prepared for all aspects of the fight. I was kickboxing, I was winning, I was knocking everyone out. So, I was that young man. I was like, ‘No one can jump me in the cage. I don’t need to practice any ground game.’ So, that’s how that ended up happening.
“I still do actually practice it, and it’s something that, it’s open as an option. However, now my goal obviously is to work with Bellator Kickboxing, do some of that. And if the right opportunity presents itself and I talk to my staff and my crew, and it’s an adventure we want to take, then definitely that’s a door and a window that obviously is open. Especially with Bellator having the resources with the kickboxing and MMA.”
You were with Glory for a few years, had good success there, why did you decide to leave for Bellator?
“I originally started… My first kickboxing match ever, before they were televised, before anyone knew what it was, I was actually with Scott Coker and I also did some K-1 with him as well. And I had such amazing experiences with Scott, as far as on a personal level, getting a chance to meet with him, knowing what his… I think it’s also important to share a person’s vision for things. And his vision for what he wants to do, what he did back with Strikeforce and when he was doing K-1, he was able to help his athletes understand that vision. And that’s why you don’t really hear about a lot of promotions where athletes really really like the person that’s in charge.
“And I like what he’s doing, I like where he’s going with things. So, it was a little bit of an easier move to move over that way, because I had worked with him before, before I went into World Combat League, the Chuck Norris League, and before I was with Glory. And then having an opportunity to work with Bellator, work with Spike TV, is a great opportunity. They do great things and I’m looking forward to being a part of that venture.”
Kickboxing is not a staple sport in the US, is it harder to make a living as a US based kickboxer than it is for other guys in the sport?
“I think it is. It’s a little more complicated. The states are the states, they fans pick different things. I think they just haven’t had the education in kickboxing and it hasn’t been mainstream enough in order for them to see it, to understand it, to love it. And that’s why I always say, anytime you look at anybody that is an MMA fighter, if you look at how they became popular and how they became the top athlete in the world, it’s usually from their standup side.
“There’s a few guys that their ground game is just… You know, when we talk about the Gracies and you talk about their ground game. And that’s what made them known. But if you look at the most popular fighters in MMA history, most of them are standup knockout artists with punches and kicks. And that’s what people like to see. They like to see two people standing up, punch and kick each other, until one person gets knocked down, one person gets dropped. And that’s the person that’s winning, is the one standing. So, I think it’s just lack of education on it, and then also just lack of seeing it and how exciting it is.”
You’ve got a really flashy style, it feels a lot more like some of the classic 70’s and 80’s martial artists that ended up as action stars or stunt men, rather than what you see most fighters doing. Is that something that you feel is important, to rep a more old-school, flashy karate style in the ring?
“Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, I’m a sport martial arts fighter, sport karate fighter. I’m a karate martial artist at heart and so I love to go out there and bring that flash and show people. They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s flashy stuff. Yeah, you see that in the movies.’ No, you can actually hit some people and cause some damage with this stuff. So, when I go out there it’s not about winning.
“I already expect to go out there and expect to win. But, can I do it and can I win in a fashion and do something that people haven’t seen, or something that they’re, ‘I saw that in a Ninja Turtle movie.’ Yep, you saw it in the Ninja Turtle movie in the sci-fi and we just did it in real life combat sports on international television. For me, it’s really about putting martial arts on the map and especially even sport karate. Because people have seen sport karate and they’re, ‘Oh that’s just tappy tap.’
“For me it’s fun. And it gives everybody that, ‘Oh, what’s he gonna do next?’ They either want to come and see what I’m gonna do next, or you want to come and see me get beat up. Well, one or the other, as long as they have one of those relationships with me I’m actually okay with it.”
Raymond Daniels will fight Francesco Moricca in a welterweight feature bout on Bellator Kickboxing on April 16th in Torino, Italy. The card will be broadcast on tape delay on Spike on April 22nd.
You can follow Daniels on twitter @RD_GOAT.