Daniel Jones – I would have liked to keep on him until he was unconscious
Western Australian native Daniel Jones stepped up on just a couple of week’s notice and put on a show at AFC 21 where he defeated Francisco Jose Vinueles by TKO in Round 2. Considered one of the fastest rising martial artists in the Country, Daniel proved exactly why he is worthy of that title when he dominated his Spanish opponent and barely gave him a chance to breath in the round and a bit he survived.
Even though Daniel had little time to prepare for the fight, it went exactly to plan nonetheless:
“The fight went as expected; he was conceding position on the floor and not trying to force a scramble back to his feet where I could look for a KO so I just accepted he was comfortable off his back looking for submissions so I kept strikes landing on him to make him uncomfortable and beat on him until he looked for a way out. But in saying that the opportunity to fight any international opponents is a good experience and gauge compared to fighting locals all the time so I appreciate the opportunity I was given”
Throughout the duration of the fight, Daniel dominated the grappling exchanges and was impossible to buck whilst in top position. The ground control he exhibited was reminiscent of a far more seasoned martial artist, which further underpins his amazing growth and development in the sport. Although Daniel’s plan was to record a highlight reel KO, he evolved as the fight panned out and simply looked to make his opponent uncomfortable:
“The plan was just to finish him with a KO depending on what mistakes he made but he was eager to keep attempting to wrestle to get the fight to the mat where he was most comfortable and from what I felt in the fight I had control anywhere so I had the opportunity to work on some positional ground and pound with elbows and punches”
The eventual stoppage came after a barrage of strikes from the top position and with that Daniel recorded a victory on possibly the most historic fight card in the history of Australian martial arts. The satisfaction he felt as the ref pulled him off his semi-conscious opponent is what drives him to keep coming back for more:
“I would have liked to keep on him until he was unconscious but it’s at the referees digression. The feeling was of relief that I was able to get this fight on short notice when it didn’t look like anything else was available this year so I at least squeezed in 3 fights despite 3 cancellations at the first half of the year. And for the opportunity to be on a show of this calibre and the first time this partnership has been showcased in Australia, so hopefully some more great opportunities arise from this moving forward”
Daniel had the distinct honour of fighting on the same card as his twin brother Luke. Unfortunately Luke succumbed to a submission defeat in the first fight of the night and having to witness that whilst mentally preparing for his own fight could easily throw ones concentration. This definitely wasn’t the case for Daniel and if anything it just drove him to put an even bigger beating on his opponent:
“Didn’t have any effect negatively on me only being that perhaps I would be more willing to inflict more damage on my opponent when the opportunity arose. The night of the event being the first fight and timing issues affecting preparation and warm up etc for the first event of this show played a part in his performance so another opportunity with better organisation on the night would show a better portrayal”
After such an impressive victory the martial arts world is well and truly Daniel’s oyster and he is fully aware of the opportunities that await. Whilst the ultimate goal is to eventually fight on the biggest and best promotion in the world, by the time that comes around the biggest and best promotion may well be the AFC & Kunlun partnership:
“Whatever opportunities I can find or become available, continue what I am doing building our brand and getting mine and my brothers name known to larger audiences. Obviously the long term goal is to fight on the best possible promotions and be a world champion which may or may not be the UFC when that time comes. But it its a journey not a destination so keep active and enjoy the journey and make memories”
