Raymond Daniels only interested in fight with Michael Page if title on the line

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Raymond Daniels and Michael Page have a history together.

Both come from a kickboxing and sport karate background, and Daniels (2-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) and Page have competed against each other three times before. Daniels won all three times.

After an highlight-reel promotional debut in which he landed a 720-degree punch knockout, Daniels made good in his second appearance for Bellator with a first-round finish over Jason King at Bellator 238.

And having notched only two wins with Bellator so far, Daniels is already being asked about a potential matchup with one of the promotion’s biggest stars in what would be a thrilling stylistic matchup.

But Daniels said he only would fight Page under one condition.

“I don’t necessarily have an interest to fight him off the bat or anything like that,” Daniels said. “If he had the title, I want to be the best. And if you check my resume, no matter what league I’ve ever competed in, I’ve always risen to the top.

“People always compare Mike and I. Mike is a little bit younger than me, so he gets his style a little bit from where I come from, because we come from the same environment. But he’s not necessarily on my radar. People compare us because we both control time and space a little bit really well. I think we’re completely different fighters, to be honest. But people see that movement and that distance because we come from a similar background.”

The 39-year-old Daniels has picked up two wins since he ended his 11-year hiatus from the sport. And while it was hard for him to match his highlight-reel finish in his debut, he’s happy with his overall performance against King.

“I like to have big finishes, things that will be heard kinda like around the world,” Daniels said. “So I wasn’t able to get that finish, but I did get the finish and I was excited about it because I was at least able to show different elements of my game.”