Chicago MMA star Daniel "The Predator" James in main card fight at Bellator 297
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mixed martial arts is as popular as ever these days. Around the world, fighters are working their way up the ladder, and hoping the be the next king of the octagon. A local MMA fighter is rising up the ranks in Bellator's heavyweight division.
As CBS 2's Matt Zahn found out, he took a bit of a road less traveled to get to this point in his career.
Daniel "The Predator" James has a pretty simple mindset when he enters a fight.
"Somebody has to leave that cage with their hand raised, and I refuse not to have my hand raised. So that's my whole thing," James said.
Lately, the 41-year-old West Side native has been getting his hand raised a lot. James has won five straight fights, rising to No. 4 in Bellator's heavyweight rankings, with his eyes on one goal ahead of his upcoming bout against No. 10-ranked Gokhan Saricam in his hometown.
"The title in Bellator is really the goal," he said. "I'm one of the top dogs, and so for me to go fight him and win this fight, you know, to get a shot at the world title after this, that's always been the goal."
James' path to this point certainly took an interesting turn. He spent three years fighting in Europe and Russia, which he says included fighting against some big dudes.
"I fought against the biggest, the baddest, and the toughest. So when I came back here, I didn't look at it as a piece of cake, I said, well it is another challenge. I am a guy that likes a challenge. So why not go over to Europe and fight, and become more of a world-class fighter, and build a bigger fanbase," he said. "I might not ever travel to Europe, you know what I'm saying? So I had a chance to go at someone else's expense, thank you."
As much as James enjoyed his time overseas, he's loving being back home again, and that means getting the chance to fight in front of his hometown fans in Chicago.
"To be back fighting in Chicago for the second time is really amazing. I was kind of stoked when I got the call back to come back to Chicago. And coming off this winning streak, still got the little jitters and things of that sort, you know what I'm saying?" he said. "Not because of who I'm fighting, just because it's my city, the people's coming out, and you think the last time was sold out, but like this time it's like everybody, they know you now. This is like, 'Dang, James is coming back to Chicago. He's putting on for the city. He's representing well."
That's not the only way James is representing his city well. He's a big believer in setting a good example for young Chicagoans, and giving back in whatever ways he can.
"Book bag giveaways, school supplies, uniforms; it's for kids all over the city. You know, toy drives for Christmas. We gave away appliances. We gave away toys. We did two toy drives," he said.
If he gets that Bellator title, we might see him helping out more. James said his goal is to win the title, defend it in Chicago, and after that, he says it might be time to put the gloves down and put in more work in the community.
James' bout against Saricam is one of four fights on the main card of Bellator 297 on Friday night at Wintrust Arena, along with fellow Chicagoan and No. 1 light heavyweight Corey Anderson vs. No. 2 light heavyweight Phil Davis; reigning light heavyweight champ Vadim Nemkov vs. No. 3 light heavyweight Yoel Romero; and reigning bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis vs. reigning featherweight champion and pound-for-pound best Bellator fighter Patricio Pitbull.
You can watch Bellator 297 live on Showtime starting at 8 p.m.