Raymond Daniels’ first meeting with Peter Stanonik ended like something out of a nightmare. First one, then another, vicious kick from Daniels landed low on his opponent. Stanonik crumpled, unable to continue. The September 2020 bout was ruled a no contest.
The pair ran it back this past Friday at Bellator 257, and this time, Daniels found the desired outcome.
“It was like that bedtime story that your parents tell you as a kid, and they don’t tell you the end,” Daniels said of how things left off after the first fight with Stanonik. Luckily, the ending arrived Friday.
“I think Peter deserved that rematch. I think that anybody that loses from a no contest, or whatever it is, from a foul, eye poke, whether it be a groin shot or whatever, deserves that opportunity to get in there,” noted Daniels. “It was great to put a stamp on that. Onward and upward now.”
The fight certainly had its interesting moments. There were several near-finishes for Daniels. And a knee early on that seemed to fell Stanonik, and almost seemed a tad low at first glance. Luckily, the ref was on top of things, and Stanonik powered through it. “That was not a low blow,” said Daniels. “I started having flashbacks for a second. I tried to make sure that I was on point with my targeting this time.”
Daniels agreed that the fight probably could have been stopped more than once. “That’s the ref’s job, not mine, so my job is to keep going.”
Another interesting factor for the kickboxer: Daniels showed some surprisingly good wrestling. Of late, he’s been training with both Mark Munoz, and the likes of Urijah Faber at Team Alpha Male. On Friday, Raymond Daniels certainly did them proud.
“Just when I thought I had the wrestling game down, I realized there’s levels to that whole wrestling scene. I’m very grateful to the guys up at Alpha Male,” said Daniels. “Andre Fili actually took me under his wing as well, helped me out with a bunch of different things. That experience with being able to go with seasons vets that were out that way was a great blessing, and I appreciate them welcoming me with open arms. And then my wife, she beats me up all the time.”
Watch the full Bellator 257 post-fight press conference with Raymond Daniels above.
