At Bellator 238, can Raymond Daniels top his highlight-reel spinning one-punch knockout?

LOS ANGELES – Raymond Daniels isn’t shy of setting his sights sky-high.

The former kickboxing ace is looking to make his mark as a mixed martial artist and, 11 years after a loss on his professional MMA debut, he returned to the sport with one of the most replayed knockouts in recent memory as he starched Wilker Barros with a stunning 720-degree punch that has earned more than five million views on YouTube. The finish catapulted Daniels (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) to MMA stardom, but the American striker is taking it all in his stride.

“I was talking to my coach about that,” he told MMA Junkie ahead of his bout with Jason King at Bellator 238 on Saturday night at The Forum. “People don’t understand that was me after a failed attempt from me 10 or 11 years ago. So if you were in my immediate circle you knew that was going to come to fruition. That was 10 or 11 years of built-up … I’ve got to get that one back! So that was awesome, and I was talking to my coaches and I’m like: ‘Man, how am I going to top that one?’”

Incredibly, Daniels’ spectacular finish from Bellator Europe 2 in Birmingham, England isn’t his best knockout. Even more remarkably, he described the finish as “basic.”

“I think that one was in my Top 5 knockouts that I’ve done,” he said. “But I just go out there and for me it’s a very basic thing, because I’ve been training it. But to other people it seems spectacular and it seems these are crazy moves, and it’s just mostly because you just don’t see anybody doing anything like that on a regular basis.”

Daniels said that merely picking up the win against King (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) won’t be enough for him. Instead, he plans on producing another magic moment inside the Bellator cage that he hopes will outstrip the other big-name performers – not just in his own sport, but in others as well.

“I’m always planning on getting the win. Getting the win is already expected for me and for what it is that I do,” he said. “I plan on finishing it quickly and in a style that people haven’t seen before. I love the fact it’s (Cris) Cyborg’s debut. I love the fact that Conor (McGregor) fought last weekend. So therefore I can go out and show the world this is what I do, no one has a highlight reel knockout succession like I do, and no one has the knockouts in the ways and the fashions that I do.

“I love to have these big-name fighters on the card before me, or after me. I love that the Super Bowl is coming up, because I’m like: ‘OK, let’s see if I can go and go out-view the Super Bowl!’ But at the end of the day I like to go out there and have a good time.”

Another spectacular win will see Daniels catapult up the rankings in Bellator’s talent-filled welterweight division, and a string of victories could see him position himself for a shot at the division’s big names. He paid tribute to current 170-pound champion Douglas Lima, and said he’d love to one day share the cage with the man he believes is an “ideal champion” for the organization.

“As of right now I know people say I’m not there, and I know I don’t think I deserve that shot right at this moment,” he said. “But I will be (deserving) in the near future.”

Before he gets to Lima, he may find himself facing off against arguably the only other 170 pounder whose highlight-reel resume could compare to his own, British star Michael “Venom” Page.

When asked if a matchup with “MVP” interested him, he smiled: “Everybody always asks me that, and I think it’s because Mike and I both come from the same background. To be honest, I actually enjoy watching Mike, we’re actually really good friends. I wouldn’t necessarily go and call Mike out, but if we had to cross paths, Mike and I have fought each other before and we both know that we’re both competitors.

“I would love if we did fight for it to be a title fight or something like that, because it just makes it all the more exciting. But in the meantime there’s a lot of fighters for Mike to go there and fight, and a lot for me to go out there and fight. It would be interesting to see the difference in our styles in a new atmosphere, because what we did back in the day was a sport karate thing. This is a different arena, so I’m sure Mike wouldn’t turn down the opportunity. If it makes dollars, it makes sense!”

But before he can set his sights on the likes of Page and Lima, Daniels says he needs a little more seasoning, and hopes to put himself within striking distance of the division’s best by the end of the year.

“Any organization that I’ve competed in, I’ve always risen to the top, I’ve always challenged for the title,” he said. “So I’m looking forward to rising to the top here. Now I’m actually having fun, and that’s when it gets scary … when I start to figure out the process.

“Even though I’m figuring this out, give me this fight (then) give me about two more fights, and I’m going to start coming for what I call the Top 10 of Bellator. The creme de la creme.

“I think the Bellator welterweight division is one of the strongest, toughest divisions in the world. I honestly get goosebumps thinking about how excited I am about having the opportunity to take a part in it.”