Dillon Danis is a polarizing figure in combat sports, but Alex Pereira is still rooting for the former Bellator fighter to get his wish and compete in the UFC.
'El Jefe' is coming off his boxing bout against Logan Paul, where he lost via disqualification. He was released from Bellator shortly after and expressed interest in continuing his MMA career in the UFC.
During his pre-fight media availability for this weekend's UFC 295, the former middleweight champion opened up about what it was like training with Danis prior to their most recent respective bouts. He noted that it was an enjoyable experience and mentioned that he is hopeful that the UFC will sign him, saying:
"I could see that he is a very talented kid. We had two [training] sessions. He's a great guy and the fact that he's actually in negotiation with the UFC or trying to get in, I think it's awesome and I'm very pumped for him. I'll root for him."
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It remains to be seen whether the UFC will offer Dillon Danis a contract as he did gain a larger following regardless of his disqualification loss to Logan Paul. The promotion could utilize his popularity and it could be helpful that he has a stamp of approval from a fighter of Alex Pereira's caliber.
Alex Pereira doesn't intent to fight with emotion at UFC 295
Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka will be headlining UFC 295, which takes place at Madison Square Garden this Saturday.
While speaking to journalist Shakiel Mahjouri, the former UFC middleweight champion noted that he won't be heading into UFC 295 with the mindset that he has to avenge Teixeira's loss to Prochazka but did note that he is motivated to bring the light heavyweight championship back to their gym, saying:
"I'm not going into this fight with mixed emotions about vengeance...But looking into the other side of being able to bring Glover [Teixeira's] belt back and put that back in the gym, that means a lot to me."