How Dillon Danis became the laughing stock of the MMA world

Dillon Danis was once a high-potential combat sports prospect. He was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace expected to make waves across the No-Gi grappling world. He had a natural aptitude for 'The Gentle Art' and was trained by the legendary Marcelo Garcia, from whom he received his black belt.

Unfortunately, Danis never reached the heights expected of him. Instead, he walked away from submission grappling, never capturing an IBJJF World Championship at the black belt level, nor ever medalling in an ADCC World Championship. But there was still hope, as he set his eyes on MMA.

However, it was not what it seemed, as after just two bouts under the Bellator MMA banner, Dillon Danis vanished from the scene. Once a lightning rod of potential, his brief stint as an exciting prospect went out with a whimper, marred by stunts, antics and setbacks that made him a laughingstock.

But how did this happen?

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From top grappling prospect to Conor McGregor's shadow

There is no denying that prior to his knee injury, Dillon Danis could have been great. Whether he had the work ethic to make something out of his natural talent, however, is an entirely different matter. But as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, he was an exceptional prospect.

He trained under the tutelage of all-time great grappler Marcelo Garcia. However, despite a stellar run as a brown belt, his accolades as a black belt was limited to winning the IBJJF Boca Raton International Open in 2015 and the IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship in 2016.

It was around this time that Dillon Danis was contacted by future UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor, who enlisted his services as a grappling coach and training partner ahead of a UFC 202 rematch with Nate Diaz, who had previously beaten the Irishman by submission.

The pair became fast friends, and McGregor's trash talk and braggadocious persona rubbed off on him. Danis began to behave similarly, adopting many of the Irishman's mannerisms. However, McGregor was a world champion with an established fanbase and ironclad legacy in the UFC featherweight division.

'The Notorious' had knocked out legendary 145-pounder Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to enthrone himself as the king of his weight class. Dillon Danis, by contrast, hadn't achieved anything. He was a pale imitation and lacked the charisma to win fans over the way McGregor did.

But he persisted, revamping his entire social media presence to mirror Conor McGregor. Though in doing so, he drew the ire of his Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, Marcelo Garcia, who booted him from his gym. But it didn't matter to Dillon Danis, as he had found a new idol in Conor McGregor.

He began dressing like McGregor, talking like McGregor, and even dyed his hair blonde like the Irishman. The irony was not lost on the world. Danis was hired as his Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, yet behaved more like a groupie. A wave of mockery ensued, one from which he would never recover.

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Dillon Danis' competitive decline and career downswing

By 2018, Dillon Danis had quickly gained a reputation for being an online troll. He began drawing the attention of the MMA community by making outlandish and unsubstantiated claims, which has become a staple of his shtick, such as his recent claims about being able to beat Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou.

Both men have held the UFC heavyweight strap, with 'Bones' being the promotion's reigning champion, and at the helm of a legacy that may very well have cemented him as the sport's GOAT. Meanwhile, Dillon Danis' own MMA career was over as quickly as it began.

He signed with Bellator in 2018, amassing two wins before vanishing from the cage after 2019. He is undefeated as an MMA fighter, but faced opponents of abysmal skill, beating Kyle Walker, whose record is 2-5, and Max Humphrey, who is currently 3-3. But his presence in MMA remained.

At UFC 229, he served as Conor McGregor's cornerman in the Irishman's grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ahead of the bout, Dillon Danis praised Conor McGregor's preparation and claimed that he brought a better version of 'The Eagle' every time he and the Irishman trained.

So it made it all the more embarrassing when McGregor lost to Nurmagomedov via submission in Round 4. Even worse, 'The Eagle' scaled the cage and lunged at Danis, sparking a brawl that, while harrowing in the moment, ultimately elevated Nurmagomedov's profile, while making Danis look weak and defenseless.

Around this time, his knee issues had grown too bothersome, and they eventually sidelined him from competition. With a damaged ACL, MCL, LCL and PCL, he had no other choice but to undergo seven hours of surgery in 2020. Unfortunately, his body rejected the new ligaments.

A second surgery was needed. While in recovery, he got into an infamous tussle with a bouncer in New Jersey, which saw Danis, who makes hyperbolic claims about his grappling skill, get taken down and choked out by said bouncer. The internet did not let him live that moment down and he became a meme.

Two months later, he was removed from UFC 286 after getting into an altercation with Ali Abdelaziz, who was a manager for Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ali Abdelaziz is said to have slapped Dillon Danis, before Danis' removal from the event, which again made him a meme as it was the latest embarrassing incident to befall him.

To walk around claiming he could beat Jon Jones in a street fight only to get choked out by a bouncer and slapped by an MMA manager within the span of two months was nothing short of humiliating. By then, it became impossible for anyone to take Dillon Danis seriously.

While Bellator president Scott Coker tried, in vain, to coax him back to MMA, Dillon Danis instead signed on to face KSI, a YouTuber, in an exhibition boxing match set for January this year. It was a matchup that even Conor McGregor could not support.

Nevertheless, Dillon Danis signed the contract and appeared on The MMA Hour to promote the fight. However, Ariel Helwani immediately expressed doubt that Danis would take part in the bout at all, which he was correct to suspect, as Danis no-showed the pre-fight press conference and withdrew from the fight.

While Danis never explicitly revealed his reasons for doing so, the bout promoter claimed that Danis was underprepared, had no boxing coach and was struggling to make weight. It was a damning turn of events and he became known as a pull-out merchant, and against a YouTuber like KSI, no less.

Around this time, a feud he had previously had with the Paul brothers, and Jake Paul in particular, began to escalate. Now, he is scheduled to lock horns with Logan Paul, another YouTuber, in a boxing match set for October 14. However, some believe he will withdraw from the matchup.

Furthermore, the buildup to the fight has been defined by Danis' tasteless attempts to promote it by involving Logan Paul's fiancee in a series of controversial tweets. But it is what Danis' career has come to: online trolling, signing up to fight YouTubers and being expected to pull out.