TRADITION MEETS MMA

So I was pretty excited about this when I read it- I posted a story from MMAFighting.com, about a crossover from Chuck Norris' World Combat League (WCL). WCL is ole' Chuck's answer to MMA, where teams of fighters from various cities duke it out for points, going towards a team win. From what I've seen, WCL elevates the class of MMA a bit, with more focus on proper striking techniques, and a bit less "ground and pound" (which, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a bit of). This is a league more for the master of traditional martial arts, though that is not to say it is sub-par in any way.

The unfortunate side-effect of being founded by Chuck Norris though, is that though everybody loves Chuck, anything he puts his name to is just never taken quite as seriously as it's "non-Chuck" alternative....I blame it on "Walker, Texas Ranger" (you know you've seen it).

At any rate, it's cool to see this guy, Raymond Daniels, crossing over into the MMA world, and I sincerely hope he does well. I think it would speak well of WCL, and of traditional martial arts in general. The guy is a 5th degree black belt in TKD (props to him), as well as Karate, and I am stoked for him. If you read interviews with him, you'll probably note what I did, that he could use a little less attitude. I am of the opinion that actions speak louder than words, and usually, when some guy is saying he wants to be the best, it's generally the guy quietly training behond him who ends up whooping his ARSE in the end. Oh well, here's hoping.

Posted on MMAFighting.com 06/23/08—12:14 PM
Featured Story:
Chuck Norris' World Combat League champion Raymond "The Real Deal" Daniels will make his mixed martial arts debut at this Friday's Strikeforce event in San Jose.
Daniels has drawn comparisons to Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le for his unblemished kickboxing record. But instead of San Shou, Daniels' background is in Karate.
"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," Daniels said of the move.
Daniels compiled a record of 18-0 in three seasons with the WCL. As captain, he led his Los Angeles Stars squad this season to a championship. Daniels capped off the season by knocking out his opponent with a spinning back kick.
Daniels will fight Jeremiah Metcalf (8-4), who will enter the middleweight contest with a three-fight winning streak.
A lightweight title bout between champion Gilbert Melendez and challenger Josh Thomson will headline the Strikeforce event from the HP Pavilion.