Raymond Daniels is one of the top strikes in mixed martial arts and he reminded fans of that at “Bellator Europe 2” in early May. Daniels scored an incredible Knockout of the Year candidate over Wilker Barros with a ridiculous 720-degree punch to flatten his opponent.
The knockout immediately went viral.
But as it turns out, Daniels actually had something different in mind when he left his feet and began spinning through the air. According to a recent interview, Daniels revealed that the technique was actually botched and initially set to be a kick.
“Officially that was actually a cheat 720,” Daniels said in an interview on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.” “Even though it came out with a punch, it was actually supposed to be a kick. I was supposed to actually land a kick, and it ended up being a punch just for the simple fact that he disengaged and created more space, and it would’ve been too far for me to throw the kick, so I closed the distance with my hands after I landed.
“I just like to go out there and try to do something a little bit more spectacular, something a little fancier that people can only see in a movie.”
Regardless of whether the technique was actually botched, we can all be thankful that the knockout ended as it did. When the annual MMA awards come up, you can guarantee that Daniels will be one of the top candidates.
The full results from the Bellator event can be seen below.
‘Bellator Europe 2: Primes vs. Wilde’ Results
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxDANi3g2Nt/
MAIN CARD
- Brent Primus def. Tim Wilde via submission (gogoplata) – Round 1, 1:20
- Fabian Edwards def. Falco Neto via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:51
- Pedro Carvalho def. Derek Campos via knockout – Round 1, 2:03
- Raymond Daniels def. Wilker Barros via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:36
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Saul Rogers def. Aiden Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Brian Moore def. Binh Son Le via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-25, 30-25)
- Kane Mousah def. Mateusz Piskorz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Lee Chadwick def. James Mulheron via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Yannick Bahati def. Amir Dadovic via submission (Kimura) – Round 1, 3:00
- Dominique Wooding def. David Khalsa via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:43
- Jim Wallhead def. Giorgio Pietrini via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-27)
- Gavin Hughes def. Mohammad Yahya via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:54
- Ashley Reece def. Craig Turner via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Daniel Cassell def. John Nicholls TKO (elbows) – Round 1, 3:09
- Akonne Wanliss def. Sam Slater via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:55
- Raphael Uchegbu def. Lee Percival via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:14
- Nicolo Solli def. Simon Ridgway via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:32
- Constantin Gnusariev vs. Kieran Lister declared a split draw (29-28, 27-28, 28-28)