Daniel 'Denzil' Thomas
Daniel “Denzil” Thomas is a 26 year old rugged, durable Welsh brawler who has been fighting some of the best names in the European circuit since turning pro in November 2006. With a pro record of 18-6-0, he initially raced away to a 7-1 record in his first eight bouts, with wins coming against the Scottish fighter Graham Turner, the Shooto Japan veteran Antanas Jazbutis, and the unorthodox Cage Rage veteran; Sami Berik.
However Thomas then struggled as he stepped-up into European class with 3 losses in 4 fights against the likes of Greg Loughran, Ian Jones, and Bogdan Cristea. However the likeable Welshman who is affectionately known as “Denzil” remained undeterred and after dipping his toes in the Kickboxing circuit where he defeated the highly regarded Essex based Muay Thai specialist Jay Woodham at UWC 6 under “K-1” rules. He then switched back to MMA where he stopped the Muay Thai specialist Stuart Davis at UWC 7 in May 2008, before ending the three bout win streak of the Irishman Peter Duncan via a Guillotine choke in August 2008.
In order to further his skills the former Bus Driver from the Rhondda Valley flew out to the H.I.T Squad, where he trained at the camp set-up by former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes. Whilst he was out in the United States; Thomas received a last minute call-up from Cage Warriors in Florida to fight on their August show. Thomas duly obliged and put on a tremendous performance against the ATT fighter Glen Mincer in a hastily arranged bout at 160 lbs. Although Thomas ended up losing via TKO he won a lot of support from US fans and local MMA personalities due to his gutsy performance.
In December 2008; Thomas took his first fight under the guidance of Warrior Promotions and was victorious at House of Pain 10 in Wales against the previously unbeaten Wolfslair Academy prospect Aaron Wilkinson. Thomas avoided several early submission attempts from Wilkinson, before working through his opponent's guard and securing the win via rear naked choke in round 1.
After a brief layoff Thomas returned to action in May 2009 when he defeated the Kickboxer Murzat Kazgan by submission of round 1 in their bout at Strength & Honour 5 in Exeter. Thomas then stepped back into the cage on May 30th at the revamped House of Pain show in Newport, Wales where he defeated Kevin McAlonan in round 2 via TKO to win the House of Pain British Lightweight Title. Thomas used a barrage of hammer fists to escape from a triangle choke and eventually stop his opponent. Thomas then quickly secured another win at the inaugural Burnley Brawl event in July 2009, where he defeated the local fan favourite Neil Fraser by Guillotine choke in the night's main event.
Thomas finished his 2009 campaign in impressive style with two wins inside six weeks as in October he defeated the Irish striker Martin Begley by submission in round 2 of their clash at MMA Respect 2 in Scotland. Then on November 30th "Denzil" pulled off his biggest win to-date at Cage Wars in Northern Ireland, when he submitted the Dutch BJJ Brown Belt Duane van Helvoirt (6-1) by Guillotine Choke in round two of their bout.
Daniel Thomas continued his good run of form at Knuckleup: Origins as he defeated Stuart Davies in the first round of their rematch by TKO, in a bout that was shown on Sky Sports in the UK. Thomas was due to face the current Knuckle Up Lightweight Champion Matt Sellers (7-2-0), however Sellars pulled out injured leaving "Denzil" to wait for his Title shot until the next Knuckleup show in June.
In the meantime WPFM matched-up Denzil on their May 22nd Cage Warriors 'Right to Fight' show at the NEC in Birmingham, England. On that night Denzil put in another dominating performance as he controlled the Cage Wars and BAMMA veteran Ali Maclean with superior striking and takedowns, before locking the Irishman in a Guillotine Choke after 3:32 of the first round, which extended his current run of form to 8 straight wins.
Next up for the rugged Welshman is a long awaited Title shot against the Knuckleup Lightweight Champion Matt Sellars at Knuckleup "Defiance" on June 26th in London, England. This bout will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK and it is hoped that a win here will give "Denzil" the springboard he needs to gain a place in one of the World's elite events.
For more information on Daniel Thomas, please contact Ian Dean of WPFM.
Likewise if you are interested in sponsoring Daniel Thomas, please contact the WPFM Commercial Director Tony McDonagh
Fighter Stats
| Won | 18 |
|---|---|
| Lost | 6 |
| Draw | 0 |
| NC | 0 |
| Weight | Lightweight |
Fight Record
| Opponent | Method | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Maclean | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 22/05/10 |
| Stuart Davies | TKO (Ground and Pound) | WIN | 20/02/10 |
| Duane van Helvoirt | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 29/11/09 |
| Martin Begley | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 16/10/09 |
| Neil Fraser | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 25/07/09 |
| Kevin McAlonan | TKO (Ground And Pound - Hammerfists) | WIN | 30/05/09 |
| Murzat Kazgan | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 09/05/09 |
| Aaron Wilkinson | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 07/12/08 |
| Glen Mincer | KO (Knee) | LOST | 23/08/08 |
| Peter Duncan | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 09/08/08 |
| Stuart Davies | TKO | WIN | 31/05/08 |
| Bogdan Cristea | KO (Punch) | LOST | 29/03/08 |
| Ian 'Mongoose' Jones | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | LOST | 12/01/08 |
| Greg 'Hitman' Loughran | Decision (Unanimous) | LOST | 04/11/07 |
| Sami Berik | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 21/10/07 |
| Bendy Casimir | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | LOST | 30/09/07 |
| Antanas Jazbutis | TKO | WIN | 08/09/07 |
| Sami Berik | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 26/08/07 |
| Tom Baxter | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 05/08/07 |
| Andre Winner | Decision (Unanimous) | LOST | 21/07/07 |
| Graham Turner | TKO | WIN | 03/06/07 |
| Jared Ferre | Submission (Strikes) | WIN | 12/05/07 |
| Richard Cashmore | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WIN | 06/05/07 |
| Denas Banevkgicius | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WIN | 26/11/06 |
