Tag: Dillon Danis

Dana White lukewarm on signing Dillon Danis to UFC deal, not a fan of outside-the-cage antics

While Dana White didn’t entirely dismiss the possibility of Dillon Danis fighting in the UFC, he also wasn’t too enthused about it.

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] apparently isn’t a fan of [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag]’ antics.

White was asked about the possibility of Danis, who’s currently a free agent, joining the UFC. Danis, who hasn’t competed in MMA since June 2019, has openly said he would like the UFC to sign him to a deal.

While White didn’t entirely dismiss the possibility, he also wasn’t too enthused about it.

“I don’t know. Do you think he should be?” White said on a recent episode of the “Full Send Podcast.” I heard he just retired.”

White’s issue with Danis is the controversy he tends to stir. Danis was at the center of the infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl following the main event between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor, he jumped the fence to attack Danis, who was in McGregor’s corner, sparking chaos in and around the cage. Nurmagomedov was not happy with some of Danis’ words in the lead-up to the fight.

“The other thing with him is, and I have no beef with the kid at all – I’ve probably said two words to him in my whole life. But every time he’s around, sh*t’s going down,” White said. “We can’t have that stuff going on here. A lot of people will see when guys get into it on stage, they’re like, ‘Oh, they must love this’ or whatever. No, we don’t love it.

“We don’t need that sh*t to sell fights. And basically what happens is when that goes down, the athletic commission goes crazy and people start getting fined and for us, it’s our job to keep that sh*t under control.. That’s why, when you see these other events and see these guys and everything breaks out like that, it’s a total, unprofessional clown show.”

White also referred to Danis’ heated rivalry with Logan Paul ahead of their boxing match last month. Danis went after Paul’s fiancé, Nina Agdal, who ended up filing a lawsuit against him for sharing photos without her consent. Danis lost the exhibition match to Paul by disqualification.

In MMA, Danis, who entered the sport with a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, is 2-0 in two appearances with Bellator. He defeated Kyle Walker in April 2018 and Max Humphrey in June 2019 – both by submission. A serious knee injury derailed his progress but still at 30, there seemingly would be time for Danis to get back on track if he focused on MMA.

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Alex Pereira rooting for ‘great guy’ Dillon Danis to sign with UFC

Alex Pereira recently trained with Dillon Danis and “could see that he is a very talented kid,” so he hopes he ends up in the UFC.

NEW YORK – [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] ends up in the UFC.

Danis, a former Bellator fighter, now is a free agent after he was released from his contract. After a layoff of more than three years due to injury, Danis returned to competition in a boxing match against Logan Paul in October. He lost the exhibition match by disqualification.

In preparation for his fight against Paul, Danis spent some time training with former UFC middleweight champion Pereira in New Jersey. “Poatan” had high praise for Danis, and would like it if he ended up under the same banner as him.

“I trained with him. We did two nice sessions, one before (my Jan) Blachowicz fight, which was MMA training, and another one for this fight that he had with Logan,” Pereira told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at a news conference Wednesday.

“First, we did the MMA session. I could see that he is a very talented kid. We had two nice sessions. He’s a great guy, and the fact that he’s in negotiations with the UFC or trying to get in is awesome, and I’m very pumped for him. I root for him.”

Danis, a standout jiu-jitsu competitor, made the transition to MMA in April 2018. He won two fights under the Bellator banner with submissions of Kyle Walker and Max Humphrey.

Thursday, Danis (2-0 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) suggested on social media the UFC should sign him and have him coach “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite British fan favorite Paddy Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) with a fight at the show’s conclusion.

You can check highlights of Pereira and Danis training courtesy of Pereira’s YouTube channel:

Pereira (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will look to capture a UFC belt in a second weight class Saturday when he faces Jiri Prochazka (29-3-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) for the vacant light heavyweight title in the UFC 295 main event at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.

Dillon Danis hits free agency after release from Bellator contract

Dillon Danis is free from his Bellator contract and his services are now available for bid as a free agent.

[autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] is a free agent.

Danis, who is coming off a loss to Logan Paul in their boxing match this month, has his services available for bid after being released from his Bellator contract.

MMA Junkie verified the news with a person close to the situation following an initial report from Ariel Helwani on Saturday.

Danis, 30, made his name in combat sports as a standout jiu-jitsu competitor. He made his transition in MMA in April 2018, and after winning two fights under the Bellator banner, was sidelined from competition for several years.

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After multiple attempts to return were postponed due to injuries, Danis finally made his comeback with an anticipated boxing match with Paul under the Misfits Boxing banner. He lost to Paul after he was disqualified in Round 6 following multiple attempts to grappling, the last of which saw Paul’s security enter the ring and prompt a melee that led to the fight being called off.

Danis has repeatedly expressed his interest to join the UFC roster, and the avenue is now possible now that he doesn’t have any contractual ties to any organization.

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John Kavanagh wants Dillon Danis to focus on MMA return: ‘He’s not a boxer’

SBG coach John Kavanagh hopes Dillon Danis will return to Dublin and shift his focus back to MMA after boxing Logan Paul.

ABU DHABI – SBG head coach [autotag]John Kavanagh[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] will shift his focus from YouTube boxing fights to making a run in MMA.

Danis is coming off a more-spectacle-than-sport boxing match against YouTuber and WWE SuperStar Logan Paul in the co-main event of Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card in Manchester, England. It was a contest where Paul showed up to fight, but Danis had other plans as he taunted, pulled guard, shot for takedowns, and ultimately got himself disqualified by causing a massive brawl.

Coach Kavanagh hopes his pupil focuses on what he’s best at going forward.

“I say this with nothing but love for Dillon, he knows I love him: I’d love to see him just put the phone down for a minute, and come back to Dublin,” Kavanagh told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been torturing him come over to Dublin. I know he just had a wee baby, and we’re all excited about that. I’d love to see him come to Dublin again and just throw himself into training for mixed martial arts. He’s an MMA fighter, he’s not a boxer.”

In a series of social media posts following the event in England, Danis fired a two-word message that aligns with Kavanagh’s wishes: “UFC next.” Danis’ last professional MMA bout was in 2019 at Bellator 222, where he submitted Max Humphrey with an armbar in the first round. It was just his second pro MMA fight, which followed another first-round submission in his debut, which also came under the Bellator banner 14 months prior.

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The gap in his resume since his Bellator appearances can partially be attributed to a serious knee injury that required multiple surgeries. It was a situation that required him to go under the knife on more than one occasion to address the same issue as the procedures didn’t go as planned.

With all of that behind him, Danis appears ready to compete on a more regular basis, and Kavanagh hopes that means he will come back to SBG, or at the very least, just focus on MMA.

“He’s an MMA fighter, and exceptional when you see him in the gym. The guy’s never quite realized that he’s been very unlucky with a set of injuries, and this and that. I hope he got some good money out of boxing and put that in the trust fund for the kid, don’t be buying fancy shoes or nothing like that. Get back to my gym or another gym, wherever. Get the head down and show everybody what you can do in the cage.”

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Darren Till stunned by ‘sh*te’ boxing on The PRIME Card: ‘Hell won tonight… That’s how bad it was’

Darren Till was stunned at how bad the boxing quality of Saturday’s The PRIME Card was.

[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] was not impressed with what he saw on Saturday at The PRIME Card.

Till, a former UFC title challenger, was present for Misfits Boxing’s event at AO Arena in Manchester, England. It was headlined by a pair of boxing fights, [autotag]Tommy Fury[/autotag] vs. [autotag]KSI[/autotag] and [autotag]Logan Paul[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag].

With the event in the books, Till was stunned about how low the quality of the boxing displayed that night was.

“Hell won tonight because we’re living in hell right now. That’s how bad it was,” Till told Seconds Out.

In the co-main event, Danis was out-struck by Paul, before he attempted to grapple and was disqualified.

Till respects Danis for his jiu-jitsu, but was not complimentary of his boxing against Paul.

“He’s terrible,” Till said. “He’s a great jiu-jitsu fighter. … Dillon Danis is a jiu-jitsu fighter. He’s not a boxer. He’s f*cking sh*te. He’s sh*te. They’re all sh*te. What do you want me to say? I’m standing here for one of them to even look at me and say one thing. They’re all sh*te.”

Till mutually agreed with the UFC to terminate his contract earlier this year. and is now a free agent. He went to spectate at The PRIME Card, but also to see if there were any potential fights of interest.

He found none.

“I don’t have much to say,” Till said. “I came here looking for some fights and no one, only ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry wants to fight with me. He’s a proper, real fighter.

“Listen, Tommy Fury, I’ve said it to other people: God bless him. He’s a good guy and I like his family, but he’s awful and they’re all awful. I’d f*cking fight everyone in one night. I’d comatose them all, I promise you. I’m in the best gym right now in Liverpool.”

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Video highlights: Logan Paul beats Dillon Danis by DQ in ridiculous boxing match

Watch the video highlights of the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis boxing match.

In the end, [autotag]Logan Paul[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] was just as ridiculous as the buildup.

The YouTube star-turned-boxer outstruck Danis, a former Bellator fighter, before Danis went on to disqualify himself by trying to use grappling in the boxing match.

The two fought in the co-main event of Misfits Boxing: The PRIME card at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. The bout was scheduled for six three-minute rounds and was contested at 195 pounds.

Check out highlights of the Paul-Danis fight in the video above.

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Dillon Danis reacts to Logan Paul loss, says ‘UFC next’

After his Logan Paul loss, Dillon Danis voiced pride in the fight, hinted at a UFC move, apologized to Drake, and more.

[autotag]Dillon Danis[/autotag] doesn’t appear fazed by a lopsided loss in a lackluster boxing match Saturday vs. [autotag]Logan Paul[/autotag].

The six-round contest saw minimal volume from each man, particularly Danis, who threw only 70 punches and landed 12. The bout co-headlined Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card at AO Arena in Manchester, England.

The fight ended in a brawl after Danis was disqualified in the final seconds and received much criticism from the combat sports community thereafter.

A few hours after the conclusion of the match, Danis shared his thoughts on the bout, Drake’s bet, what’s next, the pending lawsuit he faces involving Nina Agdal, and more, on the social media platform X.

Scroll below to see what Danis had to say – including a potential hint at wanting to join the UFC.

Logan Paul def. Dillon Danis at Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card: Best photos

Check out these photos from the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis boxing match at AO Arena in England.

Check out these photos from [autotag]Logan Paul[/autotag]’s disqualification victory over Dillon Danis in the co-main event boxing match at [autotag]Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card[/autotag] at AO Arena in Manchester, England. (Photos by Matt McNulty, Getty Images)

Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card results: Logan Paul wins disqualification after Dillon Danis causes security rush

Logan Paul showed up to fight, but unfortunately, Dillon Danis came to clown around in the co-main event of The PRIME Card in England.

After a heated build that saw physical altercations at pre-fight press conferences, [autotag]Logan Paul[/autotag] showed up for a fight. Unfortunately, his opponent Dillon Danis wanted to clown around.

The exhibition bout scheduled for six three-minute rounds served as the co-feature bout of [autotag]Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card[/autotag] at AO Arena in Manchester, England. The event aired live on DAZN and ESPN Plus pay-per-view.

After the singing of national anthems and an introduction by the legendary announcer Michael Buffer, the ring was cleared of security and the grudge match was on.

There would be no touch of the gloves to start as Paul came out firing punches upstairs and to the body. Danis kept his guard high and tight while Paul picked his punches. The two were talking often early in the round, as Paul punched while Danis smiled in reaction. Throughout the round, Danis pressed forward, but didn’t offer many punches.

Paul kept his hands at his waist to start Round 2 after firing an initial flurry of punches. As Paul punched to the body and offered combinations upstairs, Danis continued to smile as a few boos could be heard from the crowd. Danis started pressing forward, but again, Paul was the only fighter offering offense. After Danis taunted and appeared disinterested in throwing punches, Paul decided to unload a furious series of hard punches as Danis covered up.

Danis came out in the third with his right elbow high in a defensive posture, prompting the referee to issue a quick warning. Paul laughed at the technique but got back to his offense. Danis backed away and then laid on the canvas, inviting him to his guard as if it were a jiu-jitsu match. Neither Paul or the referee were entertained by the antics.

Offering offense in the fourth round, Danis landed a nice right hook early. Things quickly reverted for Danis, though, causing Paul to get agitated at the lack of offensive output from his opponent. Regardless, Paul kept with his steady offense. At the bell, Paul ducked under a punch from Danis, who then grabbed the neck for a guillotine choke.

In Round 5, Danis put himself into a corner, and Paul took advantage by teeing off hard punches. Danis eventually decided to move, but as he missed his own punches throughout the round, he became frustrated and told Paul he would beat him in jiu-jitsu.

With three minutes to go, Danis decided he was done trying to box with Paul.

He shot for a takedown that Paul stuffed, which prompted two security guards to get one foot in the ring. Danis made it appear like he was going to continue as normal, and the fight resumed. A moment later though, another takedown was stopped, and Paul threw a punch while Danis was on the ground. Danis returned to his feet and rushed after Paul. This time multiple security members rushed the ring, causing a chaotic scene.

As a result of his antics, Danis was disqualified.

After things settled and the official result was announced, Paul took shots at Conor McGregor, but vowed to return to the WWE ring to take on Rey Mysterio Jr.

“Is that little leprechaun here? Where you at Conor?” Paul said during his post-fight interview.

McGregor, who apparently was watching the fight elsewhere, appeared pleased at the outcome of the fight.

“What a spectacle, ya’s’r welcome,” McGregor wrote on X.

Up-to-the-minute results of Misfits Boxing: The PRIME Card includes:

  • Logan Paul def. Dillon Danis via disqualification – Round 6, 3:00
  • Slim Albaher def. Salt Papi via TKO (punches) – Round 4, 2:54 – for Misfits middleweight championship
  • Deen the Great def. Walid Sharks via unanimous decision (49-44 48-45, 48-45) – for Misfits lightweight championship
  • Anthony Taylor def. King Kenny via unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) – for Misfits light heavyweight championship
  • My Mate Nate def. Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
  • BDAVE and Luis Pineda vs. NICHLMAO and Alex Wassabi ruled a split draw (39-37, 37-39, 38-38) – for Misfits tag team championship
  • Ed Matthews def. Swarmz via knockout – Round 1, 0:30
  • Tempo Arts def. Chase DeMoor via split decision (37-39, 39-37, 39-37) – for Misfits heavyweight championship
  • Astrid Wett def. Alexia Grace via majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-26) – for Misfits women’s lightweight championship
  • DTG def. S-X via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:59

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