Elie: Thank you for taking the time out to
do the interview, what have you been up to since your last fight?
Daniel: I’ve spent a lot of time working on my gym - Fight Club. I
have also had a few injuries, so I have been doing a lot of rehabilitation.
Elie: You haven’t fought since September 2007,
what’s it feel like to be back?
Daniel: I am really excited; it has been a long time since I had a
fight. I can’t wait to see how I will perform.
Elie: You were on a three fight winning streak,
why the break from MMA?
Daniel: The only reason I stopped fighting was because my body couldn’t
take anymore. The level of pain in my spine was so high that I could
not function in everyday life, let alone fight professionally. This
was really frustrating at the time as I was so close to the world
title. This past year I met Rhett Strauss, a C.H.E.K practitioner,
and he managed to turn my life around with a lot of rehabilitation
and functional exercises. So here I am back in the race again.
Elie: Being one of the top fighters in Australia,
you could fight on any promotion, why did you choose to fight on the
Nitro MMA card?
Daniel: Nitro MMA’s matchmaker is Peter Beiers, who is a good friend
of mine. He asked me if I would be interested in fighting again, and
I thought it was a good time to come back into the MMA scene.
Elie: The fight happens at the Sleeman Sports
Centre, Chandler Arena in QLD on August 27, what can fans expect from
you on the night?
Daniel: As always, action at all times!
Elie: Any advice to your opponent?
Daniel: Keep your hands up!!! (laughs).
Elie: How is training coming along for this
fight?
Daniel: Training is going good, but it is always hard to have a perfect
training program when you teach as many classes as I do. But I’m doing
my best and training as hard as I can.
Elie: Who are some of the people helping you
prepare for this fight?
Daniel: I would like to thank Roy Luxton, Geordie Lavers McBain, Rhett
Strauss and all the Fight Club team for helping with my preparation
and Peter Beiers and Scott Ferris for the opportunity to fight on
the show.
Elie: You have an MMA gym in the Gold Coast,
Fight Club Jiu-Jitsu, how is that going?
Daniel: It’s been going great! Every day it grows more and more. We
have already started to build our own cage, so hopefully soon I will
be training in there in preparation for my next fight.
