There have been differences to adjust to along the way, even for a decorated striker. In fact the striking in MMA, he said, is “a lot different, to be honest. When people are doing boxing or kickboxing, you have the bigger gloves. Now, the fact that you have the bigger gloves, you don’t have a helmet when you fight, but you’re able to use those big gloves as your helmet, as a shield, to absorb some of the impact of the strikes that are coming at you. With MMA, you’re not able to do that.”
“The gloves are small, and there’s a lot of holes. You can punch through and strike through those holes. And then the impact is a lot harder, because you have the smaller gloves, and you’re able to pick your shots,” he continued. “I think it’s a total different fight game.”
As an example, Daniels used the “Money Fight” from 2017. “People saw Conor [McGregor] and Floyd [Mayweather] fight, and Mayweather obviously beat Conor. But if you took that same fight and that same exact scenario, and you put MMA gloves on them, I believe it would be a different match,” opined Daniels. “The same rule set, but just with MMA gloves, I think it would be a different outcome of the actual fight, because he wouldn’t be able to use his hands to walk through someone like that. You’re actually going to be taking a lot of punishment with the smaller gloves.”
In Daniels own case, “I’m only able to use a portion of my athleticism right now,” he said. “I’m still getting comfortable with the whole wrestling and jiu-jitsu aspect of everything. But I’m getting a lot more comfortable with it, as every day goes by.”
There is also the ever-present threat of the takedown in MMA. “You’ve got to be smart when you throw different techniques and different combinations, because people can change levels on you so fast. Even if you’re a really good boxer, you’ve got really strong hands, you can’t over-commit yourself, because you can be taken down.”
Another match-up featuring McGregor serves as a solid example. “When Khabib [Nurmagomedov] hit Conor, it’s because his wrestling was so good, he had Conor nervous about his wrestling ability, which allowed him to open up and throw his hands.”
“For me, the biggest mistake I made when I went in all those years ago was that I didn’t respect the wrestling and the jiu-jitsu,” admitted Daniels, “and didn’t take the time to understand and appreciate the beauty in their art. And ended up being on the losing end of that.”
It’s not a mistake he intends to make twice. “I spent a lot of time working with great people that are masters, so to speak, of their craft.” That includes Mark Munoz and Ryan Hall, names that should be more than familiar to MMA fans. It’s “playing catch-up,” Daniels admitted. But he also notes that even his stand-up needed modifying for MMA. It’s all about “how to modify it in order to make it efficient for MMA. A lot of the stuff I can get away with in my karate tournaments, I couldn’t get away with in kickboxing, so I had to modify it in kickboxing.”
In the same way, “some of the stuff I can do in kickboxing, I’m not able to do in MMA, so I’m making those transitions as well.”
“It’s all coming together, and now that I’m more comfortable, it’s fun,” he added. Which means for the possibility of more surprises like the 720 degree punch.
At Bellator 238 on Saturday, Daniels will throw down with Jason King (8-5). “I think Jason King is a dangerous fighter. He’s a very well rounded martial artist,” observed Daniels. “I believe he’s a black belt in Taekwondo. He’s able to wrestle, he’s able to do jiu-jitsu, I think he’s the next level/tier fighter that I need to test myself against. I’m looking to climb this Bellator ladder rather quickly, and I’m looking to increase my competition level each time.”
King also, Daniels noted, has far more experience in MMA than he does. “But I have a lot of other experiences that I’m sure he doesn’t have. It’ll be fun to go out there, and I see myself coming out victorious. I don’t think he’ll be able to handle my speed, my timing, my conditioning.”
“I’m stronger in every way, shape and form from my last fight.”
If all goes well in Los Angeles come Saturday night, Daniels has a rough outline of where he wants to go from there. “I would like to get two more fights before summer time. That’s my goal.” He’d like both of those to be steps up in competition, before hitting the upper echelon of the welterweight division.
“I want to climb that ladder rather quickly,” he continued. “The top of the food chain right now is Douglas Lima, I think he’s an amazing champion, I think he’s one of the champions that other champions should follow suit and emulate what it is that he does as a champion. He’s a family man, he’s a man of God, he’s out there, he’s working hard. You don’t see him talking trash on anybody.”
“I would love to have the opportunity to share the ring or cage with him,” he finished.
Raymond Daniels returns this Saturday, January 25, 2020 at Bellator 238 at The Forum in Los Angeles, CA. The card airs live on DAZN.
