Raymond Daniels (martial artist)

Raymond Daniels
Born Raymond Lee Daniels
(1980-04-29) April 29, 1980
Sun Valley, California, United States
Other names The Real Deal
Nationality American
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 77.1 kg (170 lb; 12.14 st)
Division Light Heavyweight
Cruiserweight
Reach 75.0 in (191 cm)
Stance Southpaw
Fighting out of Long Beach, California, United States
Team Los Angeles Stars
Team Paul Mitchell Karate
World Champion Karate
Rank Sixth degree black belt in American Kenpo
Sixth degree black belt in Shotokan
Fifth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do
Years active 2006-present
Kickboxing record
Total 10
Wins 7
By knockout 6
Losses 3
By knockout 3
Mixed martial arts record
Total 1
Losses 1
By submission 1
Amateur career
Total 18
Wins 17
By knockout 9
No contests 1
Other information
Website www.raymonddaniels.com
last updated on: May 3, 2014

Raymond Lee Daniels (born April 29, 1980) is an American karateka, Tae Kwon Do practitioner, and kickboxer.[1] After a career in karate and Tae Kwon Do, Daniels began competing as a kickboxer in 2006 when he joined the World Combat League. There, he became one of the promotion's biggest stars, compiling a 17-0 record and gaining a following due to his flashy and aggressive style of fighting.

Background

Daniels was born in Sun Valley, California, but was raised in Palmdale, California. He began training in American Kenpo karate in 1985 under the tutelage of his father, Frank Daniels, earning his black belt in 1992.[2]

While still in high school he studied kickboxing and karate, Daniels became a father. Seeking a better life for him and his son at the age of 21, Daniels became a police officer with the Long Beach Police Department, serving the department before retiring to concentrate on his martial arts teaching and professional kickboxing careers.[1][2]

Career

Daniels began competing in karate tournaments at early age. As a junior competitor in sport karate competitions, he would have very humble beginnings.[1] It wasn't until he turned 19 that he would go on to become a top rated fighter for both the National Black Belt League (NBL) and the North American Sport Karate Association (NASKA). From the "Battle of Atlanta" to the "Rolex Challenge" to the "Irish Open", he has repeatedly won virtually every major sport karate competition in the world today,except for the Irish Open 2013 against John Gallagher in the K1 open weight category.Mr.Gallagher weighed in akvt 95 kg against Raymond at 77 kg.John won this tournament and took his trophy back to the gym to train for [2] Among his titles are eight NBL World Championships (through 2010),[3] at least two NASKA world championships (2000 and 2004 were confirmed at naska.com ratings), a second-place finish at the $50,000 World Pro Taekwondo Championship in Croatia in 2010,[4] and nine overall championships at the Irish Open (a WAKO event billed as the world's largest fighting event).[5][6][7]

Daniels’ talents would not go unnoticed as Don Rodrigues coach and co-founder of the famed Team Paul Mitchell Karate would soon recruit him in 1999. Daniels would part ways with the Paul Mitchell Team in 2001, and for the next several years joined Several Other Teams.[1]

After having accomplished all that he could in sport karate, Daniels decided to delve into the world of kickboxing. In 2006, he began fighting for Chuck Norris' World Combat League promotion, as a member of the Los Angeles Stars. Daniels fought in the 80 kg/178 lbs and 88 kg/195 lbs weight divisions, compiling an impressive 17–0–0 fight record with nine knockouts.[8] It should also be noted that Daniels had a highly anticipated bout with fellow undefeated kickboxing star Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. Daniels won the history-making bout by technical knockout due to an injury suffered by Thompson that left him unable to continue the bout. However, replays showed what caused Thompson's injury was an illegal attack and therefore the bout has since been ruled a no contest and unrecognized on both kickboxers' records.

Daniels defeated Peyton Russell via third round TKO due to three knockdowns at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas on August 11, 2007.[9]

Daniels would then set his sights on the world of mixed martial arts.[10] On June 27, 2008, he made his MMA debut against twelve fight veteran Jeremiah Metcalf[11] at Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson. In his one and only fight in MMA, Daniels was defeated by Metcalf by submission with a rear-naked choke in the second round.[12]

In his first outing under full Oriental kickboxing rules, Daniels defeated two opponents in Dublin, Ireland on October 8, 2011 to win the four man 84 kg/185 lbs tournament at the Pain and Glory event. After knocking out English Muay Thai stylist Andy Bakewell with a spinning heel kick in the semi-finals, he took a split decision over Irish kickboxer Mark Casserly in the final.[13]

He then signed with the Glory promotion in 2013 and was set to fight at Glory 5: London on March 23, 2013 in London, England[14] but was later removed from the card for undisclosed reasons.[15]

Daniels TKO'd Brian Foster with a first-round spinning heel kick at Glory 11: Chicago - Heavyweight World Championship Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on October 12, 2013.[16][17][18][19]

He replaced Marc de Bonte in the Glory 13: Tokyo - Welterweight World Championship Tournament in Tokyo, Japan on December 21, 2013 for undisclosed reasons[20] and suffered his first kickboxing loss at the hands of Joseph Valtellini in the semi-finals. He initially caused some problems for Valtellini with his unorthodox karate style but by round two, the Canadian began to hurt Daniels with low kicks and he KO'd him with a high kick in three.[21][22][23][24]

He scored a spectacular jumping spinning kick KO over François Ambang inside the opening round at Glory 16: Denver in Broomfield, Colorado, United States on May 3, 2014.[25][26]

On February 6, 2015, Daniels was part of a one-night, four-man welterweight tournament at Glory 19 to determine who would get the next title shot. In the semifinals, he faced Jonatan Oliveira and won via TKO. In a dominant performance, Daniels knocked Oliveira down with a spinning heel kick to the head in the first round and scored another knock down with a spinning kick to the body early in the second round. A knee to the groin of Oliveira led to a short intermission, after which Daniels hit Oliveira with another spinning kick to the body, forcing the TKO at 2:15 of the second round. In the finals, he faced Nieky Holzken and was knocked down early in the first round by a punch to the body. Daniels was unable to deal well with Holzken's pressure, who cut off the ring and locked Daniels up in the corners whenever possible. The second round saw Daniels being knocked down twice more, before scoring a controversial down himself in the third with one of his spin kicks. Holzken then locked Daniels up in a corner once more and knocked him down with a right hook to the head, forcing the stoppage at 1:25 of the third round after four knock downs.

He defeated Justin Baesman in the co-main event at Glory 21 by TKO (Referee Stoppage) after just 51 seconds inside the first round.

After Joseph Valtellini vacated his title due to health issues, Raymond Daniels was set to face Nieky Holzken for the welterweight world championship at Glory 23: Las Vegas. In the rematch it was apparent that Daniels had worked heavily on his boxing and defense and also that he had trimmed the more flamboyant elements of his style down to a leaner and less energy-draining model. Daniels won the first two rounds on the judges scorecards as his output was a lot higher than Holzken’s and he scored more with punches and kicks. In the third round, Holzken manages to corner him and scored a combination which ended with a jump right knee that cut him above the eye prompting referee John McCarthy to stop the match in Holzken's favor, thus giving him the champion status.

He is expected to fight at the "Bellator MMA - Oktagon" event on 16th April 2016 in Turin. His opponent is yet to be announced.

Personal life

Daniels is a single father and currently lives in Orange, California. He is an instructor at World Champion Karate in Orange, California with his business partner Steven Horst. Daniels recently co-founded "ICE Martial Arts", a personal training and nutrition institute.[2]

Championships and awards

Points fighting (Kickboxing/Sport Karate)

Kickboxing (Full Contact)

Taekwondo

Kickboxing record

7 wins (6 KO), 3 loss, 0 draws
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2015-08-07 Loss Netherlands Nieky Holzken Glory 23: Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO (cut) 3 1:36 7-3
For the vacant Glory Welterweight Championship.
2015-05-08 Win United States Justin Baesman Glory 21: San Diego San Diego, California, USA KO (Spinning back side kick to the liver) 1 0:51 7-2
2015-02-06 Loss Netherlands Nieky Holzken Glory 19: Virginia - Welterweight Contender Tournament, Final Hampton, Virginia, USA TKO (4 knockdowns) 3 1:25 6-2
For the Glory Welterweight Contender Tournament.
2015-02-06 Win Brazil Jonatan Oliveira Glory 19: Virginia - Welterweight Contender Tournament, Semi Finals Hampton, Virginia, USA TKO (3 Knockdowns) 2 2:15 6-1
2014-05-03 Win United States François Ambang Glory 16: Denver Broomfield, Colorado, USA KO (left spinning heel kick) 1 1:47 5-1
2013-12-21 Loss Canada Joseph Valtellini Glory 13: Tokyo - Welterweight World Championship Tournament, Semi Finals Tokyo, Japan KO (right high kick) 3 1:20 4-1
2013-10-12 Win United States Brian Foster Glory 11: Chicago Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA TKO (right spinning heel kick) 1 2:24 4-0
2011-10-08 Win Republic of Ireland Mark Casserly Pain and Glory, Final Dublin, Ireland Decision (split) 4 3:00 3-0
Wins the Pain and Glory -84 kg/185 lb Tournament Championship.
2011-10-08 Win England Andy Bakewell Pain and Glory, Semi Finals Dublin, Ireland KO (right spinning heel kick) 1 2-0
2007-08-11 Win United States Peyton Russell K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA TKO 3 2:20 1-0
17 wins (9 KO), 0 losses, 0 draws, 1 no contest
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2008-06-07 Win United States Brandon Banda World Combat League USA KO (spinning heel kick) 1 0:55 17-0 (1)
2008-06-07 Win United States Jaime Fletcher World Combat League USA Decision (18-5) 1 3:00 16-0 (1)
2008-05-03 Win United States Scott Clark World Combat League USA Decision (16-9) 1 3:00 15-0 (1)
2008-05-03 Win Nigeria Chidi Njokuani World Combat League USA Decision (18-6) 1 3:00 14-0 (1)
2008-02-23 Win United States El-Java Abdul-Qadir World Combat League USA KO (left hook and right high kick) 1 2:37 13-0 (1)
2008-02-23 Win United States Chris Decaro World Combat League USA KO (spinning back kick) 1 1:10 12-0 (1)
2008-01-18 Win United States Blake Lirette World Combat League USA KO (right cross) 1 2:24 11-0 (1)
2008-01-18 Win United States Blake Lirette World Combat League USA Decision (15-8) 1 3:00 10-0 (1)
2007-12-14 Win United States Damion Caldwell World Combat League USA KO (spinning back kick) 1 0:20 9-0 (1)
2007-12-14 Win United States Antoine McRae World Combat League USA KO 1 8-0 (1)
2007-10-19 Win United States World Combat League USA DQ 1 7-0 (1)
2007-10-19 Win United States Ryan Madigan World Combat League USA Decision (18-6) 1 3:00 6-0 (1)
2007-01-20 Win United States Damion Caldwell World Combat League USA KO (punches) 1 1:57 5-0 (1)
2007-01-20 NC United States Stephen Thompson World Combat League USA No contest (overturned by the WCL) 1 4-0 (1)
2006-09-22 Win United States Lawrence Baker World Combat League USA Decision (15-8) 1 3:00 4-0
2006-09-22 Win United States Lawrence Baker World Combat League USA Decision (15-8) 1 3:00 3-0
2006-03-03 Win United States Ronnie Copeland World Combat League USA KO (spinning heel kick) 1 0:46 2-0
2006-03-03 Win Sweden Andreas Spång World Combat League USA Decision (15-7) 1 3:00 1-0

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 0–1 Jeremiah Metcalf Submission (rear-naked choke) Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Thomson June 27, 2008 2 0:59 San Jose, California, United States

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sport Karate Magazine >> Competitor Profile on Raymond Daniels. URL accessed on April 10, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 I.C.E. Martial Arts >> Raymond Daniels Bio. URL accessed on April 10, 2010.
  3. ↑ "NBL World Champions" (PDF).retrieved June 28, 2012
  4. ↑ "World Pro Taekwondo Championship".retrieved June 28, 2012
  5. ↑ "2012 Irish Open".retrieved June 28, 2012
  6. ↑ "World's Largest Fighting Event".retrieved June 28, 2012
  7. ↑ "WAKO review of Irish Open".retrieved June 28, 2012
  8. ↑ World Combat League >> LA Stars >> Raymond Daniels. URL accessed on April 10, 2010.
  9. ↑ "K-1 World Grand Prix 2007 in Las Vegas Report". onthemat.com.
  10. ↑ MMA Junkie >> “The Next Cung Le“ Raymond Daniels debuts Friday with Strikeforce. URL accessed on April 10, 2010.
  11. ↑ Karate Master Raymond Daniels Making MMA Debut. URL accessed on April 10, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Raymond Daniels MMA Stats". Sherdog. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  13. ↑ "KO of the Day: Raymond Daniels Spinning Wheel Kicks Some Poor Dude's Head Into the Fourth Row - Cagepotato". cagepotato.com.
  14. ↑ Dave Walsh. "GLORY 5 London Fight Card". liverkick.com.
  15. ↑ Dave Walsh. "GLORY 5 London Finalized Fight Card, This Saturday March 23". liverkick.com.
  16. ↑ Dave Walsh. "GLORY 11 Full Event Card Announced". liverkick.com.
  17. ↑ "Glory 11 fight card finalized with 6 bout under card including Michael Mananquil vs. Troy Sheridan re-match - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com.
  18. ↑ Dave Walsh. "LiverKick - LiverKick". liverkick.com.
  19. ↑ "Glory 11 Results and Recap - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com.
  20. ↑ "Raymond Daniels replaces Marc de Bonte in Glory 13 welterweight tournament - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com.
  21. ↑ Dave Walsh. "GLORY SuperFight Series Tokyo and GLORY 13 Spoilers". liverkick.com.
  22. ↑ "Glory 13 Results and Recap - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com.
  23. ↑ Fraser Coffeen. "Glory 13 Tokyo results and gifs: Rico Verhoeven, Daniel Ghita, and Nieky Holzken win big in Japan". Bloody Elbow.
  24. ↑ GLORY 13 Results: Verhoeven, Ghita and Holzken pick up victories
  25. ↑ "UFC Veteran Pat Barry Suffers First-Round Knockout Loss to Zack Mwekassa at Glory 16". Sherdog.
  26. ↑ "Glory 16 Results - Muay Thai Authority". muaythaiauthority.com.

External links

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