Raymond Daniels vs. Jeremiah Metcalf Added to Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Thomson”
Standout kickboxer “The Real Deal” Raymond Daniels (0-0) will make his mixed martial arts debut on Friday against Jeremiah Metcalf (8-4) at Strikeforce “Melendez vs. Thomson” in San Jose, the promotion has announced:
Following a spectacular, undefeated run in Chuck Norris’ World Combat League, 28-year-old kickboxing superstar, Raymond “The Real Deal†Daniels (0-0), will make his long-awaited mixed martial arts (MMA) debut when he takes on Jeremiah Metcalf (8-4) in a middleweight (185 lb. limit) battle at Strikeforce’s “Melendez vs. Thomson†mega-card at HP Pavilion on Friday.
Already being hailed as the second coming of Strikeforce World Middleweight Champion, Cung Le, Daniels, recognized as the number one Sport Karate fighter in the world, holds a 6th degree black belt in Kenpo and Shotokan Karate as well as a 5th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. He packs a thrilling, dynamic fighting style that is strikingly similar to Le, also a guru of traditional martial arts.
“I’m going to give MMA fans something that they’ve never seen before,†said Daniels, a resident of Long Beach, California. “I want to become the greatest fighter of all time. Anybody that steps in front of me is just gonna be on my next highlight reel, an obstacle that’s standing in my path to greatness.â€
The career path of Daniels, thus far, mimics that of Le, who crossed over to the world of mixed martial arts in 2006 after running to a perfect 16-0 record in the sport of professional kickboxing. Despite the parallels that can be drawn to the Strikeforce world middleweight champion, though, Daniels is quick to point out that he is his own man and is determined to carve out a unique legacy in the martial arts fight world.
“I don’t try to be the next anybody,†said Daniels. “I look to be greater than Cung and surpass anyone who’s been considered at the top of their game. I try to live up to who I am and I expect great things from myself.â€
It was at the young age of five that Daniels became inspired by his father, Frank, a seasoned martial artist and Sport Karate competitor, to study Kenpo and, later, to test his skills against other Karate players. From Ireland to Australia, Switzerland, Hungary, and Germany, he has since traveled the world to face and defeat top-ranked opponents.
Daniels joined the ranks of the WCL in 2006 and amassed a record of 18-0 over the course of three seasons with the league’s Los Angeles Stars team. Earlier this month, he captained his squad to a season championship.
“I still haven’t had any challenges or anything like that so I decided to come over to MMA and see how good I really am.â€
Daniels’ opponent, Metcalf, brings to the cage a three-fight win streak. He is a product of Modesto, California’s AAA Academy of Kickboxing, the training center that spawned 2003 K-1 North America tournament champion, Carter Williams.
In the headline bout Strikeforce lightweight champion “El Nino” Gilbert Melendez faces “The Punk” Josh Thomson for the 155-pound title. Additional bouts for the event include a light heavyweight championship bout pitting champion Bobby Southworth against Anthony Ruiz, Joe Riggs versus Luke Stewart, Nam Phan versus Billy Evangelista, and Elaina Maxwell versus Miesha Tate.
For more Strikeforce rumors check out the MMAFrenzy.com rumors section.
Tags: Jeremiah Metcalf, Raymond Daniels
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Good addition….
I’m clueless when it comes to mma organisations outside the ufc, does anybody know how these rival organisations can be viewed & followed in the uk. I’ve got Sky TV, which has the Fight Network channel which shows some old & current mma bouts but there doesn’t seem to be anything else. I feel cheated when people rave about fighters that i’ve never seen in action before. Can anone help?
JPM
I dont really know of what events are broadcasted in blighty ……………
A question for you have you got a TVU or Sopcast player ?
If not i’d reccomend downloading one (both are free) as both will broadcast most MMA events live or on a loop.
You can also use MMA linker.
The usually have videos ogf most events a few days later
Link :
http://www.mmalinker.com/
Daniels sounds more motivated than any other up and coming fighter who has had an interview or article posted about them on MMAFRENZY. He may be badass in karate and kickboxing but the transition to MMA may not be as easy as he thinks. Off the top of my head I am wondering how he would do against a good wrestler or jiu jitsu fighter. Only time will tell. I may have just landed a free ticket to the event so I will give you guys my honest opinion after seeing him fight live.
A lonley jew
I’ve neither a TVU or Sopcast player but I will have this time tomorrow, that’s for the info pal
hey lonely jew!
can you go into more detail about the Sopcast player? does it take up a lot of space? do you get the ppv fights live? stuff like that..
thanks!!!
Not much space or time to download either.
Personally i prefer TVU as they usually have most UFC, EliteXC, Strikeforce and i think Dreams ?
Sopcast might have more channels though…..
Great information.Very informative article.Thanks.!This attitude may help one learn how the opponent fights and but it does limit your creative fighting skills and also does not help one build the endurance or strength- which are very important factors in MMA type fighting.
I’ve watched World Combat League for a while and ended up taking it off the DVR due to the large boxing gloves and too much padding. I saw Daniels fight quite a bit and he IS awesome.
However, I’m not sure it will translate to MMA very well. I hope it does as he was one of the few in WCL that was exciting to watch!
It will be interesting to see how he does when he gets hit by a REAL glove and a bare leg kick without the BS padding.
I saw Daniels on WCL also, he is good very but very aroggant. I just deleted 6 of them for lack of space on my dvr. Is bodog going to put up odds for this event. It’s a day away. I want to bet on Daniels and Melendez.
Finally something!!! bodoglife.com
Bodog just put the fights up but the odds aren’t posted let. I’ll be posting them as soon as they’re up.
thanx I was getting anxious. the money in my account is burning a hole in my pocket. I was about to let it loose on ufc 86 or affliction banned.