Bellator “Birmingham” takes place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England, this weekend (Sat., May 4, 2019), airing via Channel 5 in the United Kingdom (available via the Bellator app at 5 p.m. ET in the United States). The main event of the evening will see former Lightweight champion Brent Primus (8-1) lock horns with Tim “The Experiment” Wilde (12-3) in his promotional debut.
For those tuning in via Bellator.com on Saturday, the card will also feature Bellator’s Welterweight kickboxing champion in only his second mixed martial arts (MMA) fight. “The Real Deal” Raymond Daniels captured that title at Bellator Kickboxing 7 in San Jose, Calif., on back in Sept 2017. He was undefeated in Bellator to that point and has remained so since his knockout of Karim Ghajii. In MMA, though, Daniels’ story is a little different. Daniels has not taken a multi-discipline fight since Strikeforce: “Melendez vs. Thomson” in 2008, and that night did not go his way, losing via rear-naked choke to Jeremiah Metcalf 59 seconds into round two.
Daniels recently spoke with MMAmania.com about facing Wilker Barros in Birmingham on Saturday, a late replacement for Jon Durrant, and how that changed up his fight prep.
“It did change some of my training because Durrant was a southpaw, so most of our sparring partners had been southpaw at the time. So then mid-training camp I had to switch it up to fighting some orthodox fighters. That changed it a little bit but nothing too major. I’m still working on some of the same things with my wrestling and jiu-jitsu coaches and my stand up coach as well. For me one of the best things to know is what stance my opponent fights in — besides that it doesn’t make a difference. Everybody has two hands and two feet at the end of the day.”
Not everybody has a kickboxing record, though, which means that Daniels will be facing an opponent with a very similar skill set. To Daniels that makes it an even better fight.
“I think a lot of times styles make matches, you know what I mean? Like if you put a wrestler versus a wrestler, or a jiu-jitsu guy versus a jiu-jitsu guy. If you look at some of the most entertaining fighters that there have been in the history of MMA, they’ve been stand-up fighters. There’s been a lot of great wrestlers and grapplers but some of the ones that are some of the favorites have been the stand-up (fighters). It’s just a good opportunity to get your feet wet in the MMA world for myself, and fighting somebody from a similar background, as opposed to a division one wrestler or something.”
That leads us back to the fact that Daniels “got his feet wet” against Jeremiah Metcalf back in 2008, a shocking first loss for a fighter who had bought into his “Real Deal” hype.
“It’s fun being older to tell you the truth — you have the ability to reflect. I was young, I was an undefeated fighter, I was an undefeated striker, an undefeated martial artist. I remember someone asking me, ‘Have you trained in wrestling or jiu-jitsu?’ I was like, ‘Oh no. Why do I need to train in wrestling or jiu-jitsu when I’m knocking everybody out? Nobody’s gonna be able to take me down, I’ll just punch ‘em and kick ‘em and call it a day.’ As you know the results of that fight, the first move, I throw the first punch and I’m getting taken down like, ‘What are you doing?’ and then I couldn’t get back up.”
As Daniels reflects on that experience he finds value in the phrase, “you learn more from a loss than a win” and how that made him into a better man … and a better fighter.
“I think when fighters are undefeated it hits them really hard when they have that first loss, their first defeat or first setback. I think it’s a true test to their character and how good or great they’re going to be in the future. It was a very humbling, eye-opening experience for me and honestly I wouldn’t change it. I think it lit a fire under me to make me hungrier for things. Everybody has that one thing that maybe say something happened that didn’t go your way that you would love to change. That’s what I love about this opportunity (on Saturday). It’s giving me that opportunity to go back and fix the mistakes that I made earlier in life, being older and more mature, and now going into it I have a whole different mindset and respect for jiu-jitsu, for wrestling, for all of it.”
Some fighters would dread a long international trip going from California to the United Kingdom, but as a Bellator Kickboxing champion, Daniels has been to Italy and Hungary multiple times and he loves the travel schedule.
“Oh man, it’s amazing! Just to be able to travel international, I love traveling, that’s my hobby. I do it for teaching martial arts for my Evolution Fighting System (and) I also just do it for fun. Being able to go around the world and travel and do what I love to do is absolutely amazing. I have a huge following in the U.K., in Birmingham, Manchester, all this area, so many people telling me that they’re coming to my fight. It’s a blessing to be able to do what you love to do and to see the world at the same time.”
What he’d love to do most on Saturday is give those same fans a memorable performance with a highlight-reel finish.
“You know he’s a really tough opponent, he’s a really game opponent, so I’m looking forward to the fight, but I see the fight ending with me being victorious viaknockout. The reason I say that is one, there’s no corner. It’s a big circle cage and that’s what I’m used to — a big open space to use and do my movement like I’m capable of doing. Secondly we’re going to be fighting with smaller gloves, and I’m more used to small gloves because I’m from a martial arts background. For years I’ve been trained to be the first and the best and hitting first and hitting multiple times and not being hit. I’m looking forward to going in here and seeing if I can implement my style.”
Life doesn’t always give you second chances, but “Real Deal” Raymond Daniels gets to try MMA again on Saturday night with newfound respect for the sport at Bellator: “Birmingham.”
Complete audio of our interview is embedded above, and complete coverage of Bellator “Birmingham” resides here at MMA Mania all week long.
To check out the latest Bellator MMA-related news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive news archive right here.