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Dillon Danis

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Dillon Danis
Danis in 2023
Born (1993-08-22) August 22, 1993 (age 31)
Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Other namesDouble D
El Jefe
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
DivisionWelterweight (2018–present)[2]
Reach72 in (183 cm)[3]
StyleBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Fighting out ofNew York City, New York, U.S.
TeamSBG Ireland[4]
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Marcelo Garcia[5]
Years active2013–2023
Professional boxing record
Total1
Losses1
Mixed martial arts record
Total2
Wins2
By submission2
Losses0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Representing  United States
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship[6]
Gold medal – first place 2016 California, U.S. -181 lbs
Gold medal – first place 2016 California, U.S. openweight

Dillon Danis (born August 22, 1993)[7] is an American retired submission grappler and mixed martial artist.[8] Danis competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. He also competed in the Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship.

He made his mixed martial arts debut at Bellator 198 against Kyle Walker and won via a toe hold in the first round. He then faced Max Humphreys at Bellator 222 and won via armbar in the first round. He was involved in a melee at UFC 229 after Khabib Nurmagomedov proceeded to throw his mouthpiece and then scaled the cage and appeared to jump towards him. He responded by throwing punches at Nurmagomedov before an all-out brawl ensued. He was subsequently fined $7,500 and suspended for 7 months following the incident. Throughout his career, Danis has become the subject of many controversies due to his behaviour.

In boxing, he was scheduled to face British YouTuber KSI at MF & DAZN: X Series 004, but withdrew due to lack of preparation and coaching. In his debut professional boxing match, he was defeated by American YouTuber Logan Paul via disqualification.

Background

[edit]

Born to a Spanish-Honduran mother and Armenian father,[9] raised in Parsippany–Troy Hills, New Jersey,[10] Danis attended Parsippany Hills High School and started wrestling there as a freshman, despite the fact that he "couldn't do one pushup".[11][12] He started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 15 after he was involved in a fight at school. At 17, Danis started making trips to Marcelo Garcia's academy in New York and at 19 he eventually moved to New York in order to actively pursue a career in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After wins at various high-level tournaments he was awarded his black belt at 21 years of age.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

[edit]

In 2016, Danis came to light in the mixed martial arts community when he was asked to join the training camp of UFC fighter Conor McGregor as a coach and training partner ahead of his rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 202.[13] He would continue to work with Conor, helping him to prepare for the Khabib Nurmagomedov bout. Due to his image in the media prior to the fight with Diaz, Marcelo Garcia disassociated Danis from his school.[5]

Bellator MMA (2018-2019)

[edit]

In 2018, Danis was scheduled to make his own MMA debut at Bellator 198 against Kyle Walker.[14] He won via a toe hold in the first round of the fight.[15] Danis’ next fight was against Max Humphreys in 2019 at Bellator 222 at a catchweight of 175 lbs. Danis won the fight via armbar in the first round.[16] Danis was originally scheduled to fight again in 2020, against Kegan Gennrich at Bellator 238.[17] Previous to the scheduled bout, however, Danis received an injury and was forced to withdraw.[18]

Danis confirmed in 2023 that he has two fights left on his Bellator contract and intends to complete both of them in 2023, along with at least one more fight after.[19]

Retirement (2023)

[edit]

On October 21, 2023, it was reported by Ariel Helwani that Danis had been released from his Bellator contract.[20] Danis hit the free agency market and aimed to get a deal with the UFC, but stated his intention to not participate in MMA again if he did not get signed.[21][22] A month after his exit from Bellator, Danis subsequently announced his retirement from combat sports on November 15, 2023.[8]

Return (2024)

[edit]

Months after his original claim of retirement, in May 2024, Danis announced he would be returning to MMA competition.[23] He claimed to have signed his end of a contract to fight former UFC fighter and Bare Knuckle Boxing champion Mike Perry in a mixed martial arts fight.[24] Perry likewise addressed the claim and stated he was open to fighting Danis, in either BKB or MMA.[25] On September 16, Misfits Boxing CEO Mams Taylor revealed that the two fighters were originally supposed to fight on August 10 on the first ever Misfits MMA card in Miami, Florida.[26]

Grappling events

[edit]

On May 9, 2015, Danis fought UFC veteran Joe Lauzon at Metamoris 6. Danis won via a D'arce choke.[27]

On October 29, 2016, Danis fought at Polaris Pro Grappling 4 against Jackson Sousa. Danis won via an inside heel hook.[28] He also participated in Polaris 5 at a catchweight (-78 kg) where he lost a judges decision to Garry Tonon.[29]

Danis overall holds a grappling record of 18 wins and 16 losses, and is a seven time tournament winner, winning eleven of his fights by submission, with only a single loss coming by submission to himself.[30]

Boxing career

[edit]

Cancelled bout with KSI

[edit]

On November 18, 2022, Danis made an appearance at the press conference for MF & DAZN: X Series 003 where he confronted British YouTuber KSI. During the broadcast on November 19, it was announced that Danis would face KSI on January 14, 2023, at Wembley Arena in London, England as the headliner to X Series 004.[31] However, Danis withdrew on January 4 with Mams Taylor, promoter and matchmaker for Misfits Boxing, stating the reason being that he is "underprepared, he [Danis] has no coach, he might be struggling with weight."[32] Danis was replaced by Brazilian YouTuber FaZe Temperrr.[33]

Paul and Danis moments before the start of their bout.

Danis vs Paul

[edit]
Main article: Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis

On August 8, 2023, it was announced that Danis would face American YouTuber Logan Paul as the second main event for X Series 10 – The Prime Card alongside KSI vs Tommy Fury on October 14 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.[34]

During the bout, Danis was disqualified in the sixth round after attempting a takedown and an illegal choke. Immediately after, a brawl broke out in the ring and security intervened.[35] Danis later announced his intention to appeal the disqualification loss.[36] On October 21, 2023, Danis officially submitted an appeal of the decision. The decision was not changed.

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

[edit]
  • IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship[37]
    • Purple belt medio: 3rd place (2012)
    • Brown belt medio: 2nd place (2013)
    • Brown belt medio: 1st place (2014)
    • Black belt pesado: 1st place (2016)
  • IBJJF New York Spring International Open
    • Brown belt medio: 2nd place (2015)
    • Brown belt open class: 1st place (2015)
  • IBJJF New York Summer International Open
    • Brown belt medio: 1st place (2014)
  • IBJJF Boca Raton International Open
    • Black belt medio: 1st place (2015)
  • IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships
    • Brown belt medio: 1st place (2014)

Controversies

[edit]

UFC 229 Nurmagomedov–McGregor post-fight incident

[edit]

At UFC 229, Danis—a member of Conor McGregor's corner team—was involved in a melee when Khabib Nurmagomedov, after submitting McGregor, proceeded to throw his mouthpiece at McGregor's corner team and then scaled the cage and appeared to jump towards Danis.[38] Danis responded by throwing punches at Khabib before an all-out brawl ensued.[39] Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan has claimed that Danis was insulting Nurmagomedov in an attempt to provoke him stating, "Dillon (Danis) was absolutely insulting Khabib, saying something to him and provoking him and then Khabib just jumped over the cage and attacked him".[40] Danis was subsequently fined $7,500 and suspended for 7 months following the incident.[41] Danis did not comment publicly until March 11, 2019, where he told Ariel Helwani on the ESPN MMA podcast that Khabib started taunting him in the second or third round and was aggressive throughout the event.[42]

New Jersey arrest

[edit]

Danis was arrested on September 18, 2021, after getting into an altercation with a bouncer outside a nightclub in New Jersey where Danis was overpowered, restrained, and choked out.[43][44] Danis later claimed that the bouncer and bartenders from the nightclub were at fault for the altercation, and that officers released him after approximately twenty minutes.[45]

ADCC PEDs accusations

[edit]

In October 2021, Danis accused UFC veteran Jake Shields of offering him PEDs prior to the 2017 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship.[46]

UFC 268 altercation

[edit]

Danis was removed from the building at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021, after getting into an altercation with MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz where he was slapped by Abdelaziz.[47]

Endorsement of cryptocurrency scams

[edit]

In February 2023, Stephen "Coffeezilla" Findeisen, a YouTuber known for exposing cryptocurrency scams,[48] accused Danis of accepting cash to promote cryptocurrency and NFT scams to his social media followers without performing due diligence.[49] Findeisen's team paid Danis $1,000 to promote a fake NFT project on his Twitter account, which actually contained a link to a website listing 20 cryptocurrency and NFT projects that Danis endorsed and Findeisen claims are scams. According to Insider, Danis is yet to issue a response to the allegations.[50]

Nina Agdal case

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During the build up to his boxing match with Logan Paul on October 14, 2023, Danis continuously shared images of Paul's fiancée Nina Agdal on social media. Agdal filed a lawsuit and on September 8, Agdal was granted a temporary restraining order.[51] In 2024, Danis’ legal representation filed a motion to withdraw.[52]

Personal life

[edit]

In August 2023, Danis announced the birth of his first child, a son, but did not share his name or the identity of his son's mother.[53]

On September 1, in the buildup to his bout against Logan Paul, Danis shared the first picture of himself holding his infant son.[54] Despite becoming a father, Danis is still known to the public to be single.[53]

Professional mixed martial arts record

[edit]
Professional record breakdown
2 matches 2 wins 0 losses
By submission 2 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 2–0 Max Humphrey Submission (armbar) Bellator 222 June 14, 2019 1 4:28 New York City, New York, United States Catchweight (175 lb) bout.
Win 1–0 Kyle Walker Submission (toe hold) Bellator 198 April 28, 2018 1 1:38 Rosemont, Illinois, United States Catchweight (175 lb) bout.

Professional boxing record

[edit]
1 fight 0 wins 1 loss
By knockout 0 0
By disqualification 0 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 Loss 0–1 Logan Paul DQ 6 (6), 2:55 Oct 14, 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England MF–Professional bout

Submission grappling record

[edit]
9 Matches, 5 Wins, 4 Losses 0 Draws
Result Rec. Opponent Method Event Date Location
Loss 5–4 United States Gordon Ryan Referee Decision ADCC 2017 September 23, 2017 Finland Espoo, Finland
Win 5–3 Japan Yukiyasu Ozawa N/A
Loss 4–3 Brazil Mahamed Aly N/A
Loss 4–2 United States Jake Shields N/A Submission Underground 4 May 14, 2017 United StatesPortland, OR, United States
Win 4–1 United States AJ Agazarm N/A Submission Underground 3 January 29, 2017 United States Portland, OR, United States
Loss 3–1 Brazil Max Gimenis N/A Copa Podio July 9, 2016 Argentina Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Win 3–0 United States Joe Lauzon Submission (D'Arce Choke) Metamoris 6 May 9, 2015 United States California, United States
Win 2–0 United States Jonathan Satava N/A 2014 IBJJF World Jiu Jitsu No-Gi Championship October 5, 2014 United States Azusa, California, United States

Pay-per-view bouts

[edit]
United Kingdom
No. Date Fight Billing Network Buys Revenue Source(s)
1 14 October 2023 Paul vs Danis Judgement Day DAZN 1,300,000 £26,000,000 [55]
Total 1,300,00 £26,000,000

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2023 Happy Punch Awards Best Trash Talker Himself Won [56]
2023 MMA Hour Awards Best Social Media Of The Year Himself Won
2024 Misfits Boxing Awards Feud of the Year Himself (shared with Logan Paul) Won [57]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Fight Center: Dillon Danis". tapology.com. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  2. ^ "Dillon Danis ("The Pullout King") | MMA Fighter Page". Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  3. ^ "Dillon Danis ("El Jefe") | MMA Fighter Page". Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "Dillon Danis will train at SBG Ireland for Bellator MMA debut, which is set for April". 2018-03-09. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Dillon Danis". BJJ Heroes. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2016 - Final Results" (PDF). ibjjf.com. International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Dillon Danis | BJJ Heroes". Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  8. ^ a b Blackett, Todd (15 November 2023). "Dillon Danis Announces Retirement From Fighting". JitsMagazine. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  9. ^ DeGrushe, Allison (23 August 2023). "Dillon Danis's Mom Has Always Supported His MMA Dreams — Details". Distractify.
  10. ^ Mahanta, Himanga (January 12, 2023). "Dillon Danis Gets the Worst Treatment by Fans as He Recalls an Old Photo to Remember His Father". EssentiallySports. Archived from the original on January 12, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Harper, Matt. "Excellence on mat, in class pins down honor for Danis", Daily Record, January 26, 2011. Accessed November 29, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Over the last three years, Dillon Danis of Parsippany has honed his skills as a wrestler and begun to master the art of jujitsu while also excelling in the classroom. His efforts of late were enough to earn him the Student of the Month Award at Parsippany Hills High School. Danis, 17, joined the wrestling team his freshman year at the urging of history teacher and head wrestling coach Jason Lodato."
  12. ^ Havsy, Jane. "Parsippany Hills grad earns victory in pro jiu-jitsu debut", Daily Record, May 9, 2015. Accessed November 29, 2022. "Danis is very accustomed to being misunderstood. He started training in jiu-jitsu when he was just 15 years old, a teenager who 'couldn't do one pushup' grappling with grown men. He got into wrestling at Parsippany Hills at about the same time, after head coach Jason Lodato recruited him out of a freshman history class."
  13. ^ "Conor McGregor drafts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu star as training partner for Nate Diaz rematch - JOE.co.uk". JOE.co.uk. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  14. ^ "Dillon Danis added to Bellator 198 card". mmafighting.com. 15 March 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  15. ^ "Bellator 198 results: Dillon Danis submits Kyle Walker in pro debut". mmafighting.com. 2018-04-29. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  16. ^ Lee, Alexander (11 March 2019). "Dillon Danis returns to fight Max Humphrey at Bellator 221". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Danis gets 2nd fight since ban, vs. Gennrich". ESPN.com. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  18. ^ "Dillon Danis vs. Kegan Gennrich, Bellator 238 | MMA Bout". Tapology. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  19. ^ Rogers, Kian (January 4, 2023). "Dillon Danis Plans 'Four, Maybe More' Fights In 2023". Jits Magazine.
  20. ^ Martin, Damon (2023-10-21). "Dillon Danis released from Bellator MMA contract". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  21. ^ Guillen, Adam (2023-10-22). "UFC bound? Dillon Danis officially a free agent after Bellator releases him from contract". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  22. ^ "Dillon Danis Says It's UFC or Bust, Would 'Rather Retire' Than Sign with Another Promotion". MiddleEasy. 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  23. ^ "Dillon Danis fight return confirmed as Jake Paul leaks details of controversial star's comeback". bloodyelbow.com. 2024-06-02. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  24. ^ "Dillon Danis claims he has 'already signed' for MMA return against beloved UFC veteran… 'This is gonna be war'". bloodyelbow.com. 2024-05-12. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  25. ^ Newswire, MMA Fighting (2024-05-10). "Mike Perry open to facing Dillon Danis but 'not a chance he'll fight me in bare-knuckle'". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  26. ^ Taylor, Mams (September 16, 2024). "We were days away from announcing this on our incredible new MMA platform earlier this year. Was supposed to happen August 10th in Miami. Misfits MMA is coming!". X. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Metamoris results: Barnet taps Gracie, Lauzon taps". bloodyelbow.com. 2015-05-10. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  28. ^ "Polaris Invitational 4 Results - BJJ Heroes". BJJ Heroes. 29 October 2016.
  29. ^ "Polaris 5 Results". polarisprograppling.com. Polaris. November 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  30. ^ "Dillon Danis | BJJ Heroes". Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  31. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (19 November 2022). "KSI vs. Dillon Danis boxing bout announced for MF & DAZN X Series 004 on Jan. 14". MMA Fighting. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  32. ^ @MisfitsBoxing (January 4, 2023). ""I got a phone call saying Danis is pulling out of the fight."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Happe, Liam (4 January 2023). "KSI to face FaZe Temperrr on 14 January in place of Dillon Danis". DAZN News.
  34. ^ Raimondi, Marc (8 August 2023). "Logan Paul to face Bellator's Dillon Danis in boxing match". ESPN.
  35. ^ Rogers, Kian. "Dillon Danis Disqualified After Boxing Debut Ends In Brawl". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  36. ^ Rogers, Kian. "Dillon Danis Plans To Appeal Disqualification Loss To Logan Paul". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  37. ^ "Results". ibjjf.com. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  38. ^ "Conor McGregor vs Khabib: How Dillon Danis incited UFC 229 post-fight brawl". Independent. October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  39. ^ "Dillon Danis Seen Brawling With Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229". flograppling.com. October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  40. ^ "What Conor McGregor's teammate Dillon Danis gestured to Khabib Nurmagomedov to spark UFC 229 brawl". Daily Mirror. October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  41. ^ Morgan, John (25 February 2019). "Dillon Danis suspended seven months, fined $7,500 by the Nevada Athletic Commission for his role in UFC 229 brawl". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  42. ^ Helwani, Ariel (11 March 2019). "Dillon Danis recaps UFC 229 brawl, calls Ben Askren 'easiest fight ever' - Ariel Helwani's MMA Show". ESPN. Retrieved 12 March 2019 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ "Watch out Dillon Danis: Logan Paul has added 'choke-hold' bouncer Chance to the Logang". Hindustan Times. September 16, 2023.
  44. ^ "Watch Dillon Danis Arrested Outside New Jersey Nightclub". 21 September 2021.
  45. ^ "Dillon Danis Breaks Silence on Recent Arrest". 19 October 2021.
  46. ^ "Dillon Danis Claims Jake Shields Offered Him PEDs Before ADCC". 20 October 2021.
  47. ^ "Dillon Danis Reportedly Slapped by Ali Abdelaziz at UFC 268". 8 November 2021.
  48. ^ Monroe, Rachel (2022-05-14). "Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  49. ^ Bissell, Tim (2023-02-06). "Dillon Dantargeted with fake NFT project, accused of promoting multiple crypto scams". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  50. ^ Dodgson, Lindsay. "A YouTuber tricked an MMA fighter into sharing allegations that 20 crypto projects he plugged were scams". Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  51. ^ Raimondi, Marc (2023-09-08). "Logan Paul's fiancée, Nina Agdal, sues Dillon Danis for 'revenge porn'". ESPN. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  52. ^ Jones, Phil. "Dillon Danis Lawyers Quit In Nina Agdal Lawsuit". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  53. ^ a b "Dillon Danis Kid: Name, Date of Birth, Baby Mama, and More". EssentiallySports. 2023-10-09. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  54. ^ Turnbull, Michael (2023-09-01). "Dillon Danis shares images of adorable first child and pokes fun at Logan Paul". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  55. ^ Jabber, Nasir (17 October 2023). "The pay-per-view numbers for KSI vs Tommy & Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis are in - they're massive". Sport Bible.
  56. ^ "Congrats to all of our winners!". Twitter. October 11, 2023.
  57. ^ "👑 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗫𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 👑". Twitter. December 31, 2023.
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