Dillon Danis- A Man of Controversies
Dillon Danis (born August 22, 1993) is an American former submission grappler, mixed martial artist, and professional boxer. As a mixed martial artist, he is the current MF MMA Light Heavyweight (175lbs) Champion. Danis competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. He also competed in the Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship.
He made his MMA 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. Danis 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 a lack of preparation and coaching. In his debut professional boxing match, he was defeated by American YouTuber Logan Paul via disqualification.
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. He would continue to work with Conor, helping him to prepare for the Khabib Nurmagomedov bout. Due to his image in the media before the fight with Diaz, Marcelo Garcia disassociated Danis from his school.
In 2018, Danis was scheduled to make his own MMA debut at Bellator 198 against Kyle Walker. He won via a toe hold in the first round of the fight. 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. Danis was originally scheduled to fight again in 2020, against Kegan Gennrich at Bellator 238. Previous to the scheduled bout, however, Danis received an injury and was forced to withdraw.
Danis confirmed in 2023 that he had two fights left on his Bellator contract and intended to complete both of them in 2023, along with at least one more fight after.
On October 21, 2023, it was reported by Ariel Helwani that Danis had been released from his Bellator contract. 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. A month after his exit from Bellator, Danis subsequently announced his retirement from combat sports on November 15, 2023.
On July 20, 2025, Misfits Boxing announced that Danis and influencer Warren Spencer would partake in an MMA match on the Misfits 22 – Ring of Thrones undercard, launching their MMA division. The event took place on August 30 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, for the inaugural MF MMA light heavyweight title (175 in-house limit). Danis won the bout by mounted guillotine-choke submission fifteen seconds into the first round and was crowned the in-house champion. After the bout, Danis faced off with strongman Eddie Hall.
On November 3, Misfits co-president Mams Taylor announced that Danis would make his first title defense on the Misfits Mania – The Fight Before Christmas undercard, set to take place on December 20 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, UAE. One week later, Danis' opponent was confirmed to be Anthony Taylor.
On May 9, 2015, Danis fought UFC veteran Joe Lauzon at Metamoris 6. Danis won via a D'arce choke.
On October 29, 2016, Danis fought at Polaris Pro Grappling 4 against Jackson Sousa. Danis won via an inside heel hook. He also participated in Polaris 5 at a catchweight (-78 kg), where he lost a judges' decision to Garry Tonon.
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.
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. However, Danis withdrew on January 4 with Mams Taylor, promoter and matchmaker for Misfits Boxing, stating the reason was that he was "underprepared, he [Danis] has no coach, he might be struggling with weight." Danis was replaced by Brazilian YouTuber FaZe Temperrr.
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.
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. Danis later announced his intention to appeal the disqualification loss. On October 21, 2023, Danis officially submitted an appeal of the decision. The decision was not changed.
On February 4, 2025, it was announced that Danis' bout with KSI would be rebooked for March 29, headlining Misfits 21 – Unfinished Business at Manchester Arena in Manchester. Originally, KSI was scheduled to face English former footballer Wayne Bridge, but the bout was cancelled after Bridge withdrew on 20 January, resulting in Danis signing on as the replacement opponent. On 21 March, it was announced that the fight would be postponed due to KSI suffering from an illness. On 4 April, Misfits Boxing co-president Mams Taylor confirmed on X that Misfits 22 – Blinders & Brawls was moved from 12 April to 16 May, and will be their next event, confirming that Misfits 21 – Unfinished Business was no longer happening.
Championships and accomplishments
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
- IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship
- 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: 2nd place (2014)
Mixed martial arts
New Jersey arrest
ADCC PEDs accusations
In October 2021, Danis accused UFC veteran Jake Shields of offering him PEDs before the 2017 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship.
UFC 268 altercation
Danis was removed from the building at UFC 268 on November 6, 2021, after getting into an altercation with MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz, who Abdelaziz slapped by Abdelaziz.
Endorsement of cryptocurrency scams
In February 2023, Stephen "Coffeezilla" Findeisen, a YouTuber known for exposing cryptocurrency scams, accused Danis of accepting cash to promote cryptocurrency and NFT scams to his social media followers without performing due diligence. 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 has yet to issue a response to the allegations.
Nina Agdal case
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.[61] In 2024, Danis' legal representation filed a motion to withdraw.[62]
UFC 322 altercation and banning
Danis was involved in a brawl with several members of UFC champion Islam Makhachev’s team at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, at Madison Square Garden. The scuffle broke out cageside just moments before the main card began, which featured Makhachev headlining a welterweight title bout against Jack Della Maddalena. Multiple videos captured Danis clashing with Makhachev teammates Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Magomed Zaynukov. During the UFC 322 post-fight press conference, Dana White told reporters he wouldn’t press charges against Danis but suggested the 32-year-old would no longer be welcome at future UFC events.
Personal life
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.
On September 1, in the buildup to his bout against Logan Paul, Danis shared the first picture of himself holding his infant son. Currently, Danis' public relationship status is single.
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