Dillon Danis is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist. Danis is best known for being the training partner of Conor McGregor, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion. Danis also competes in mixed martial arts (MMA), making his debut in Bellator MMA in April 2018.
Danis was born on August 22, 1993, in New Jersey, United States. He began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 16 and quickly rose through the ranks and earned his black belt in just six years, becoming one of the youngest Americans to do so. In 2015, Danis became the featherweight champion at the IBJJF Pan American Championship and the light heavyweight champion at the IBJJF World Championship at Brown belt.
Danis has also gained notoriety for his brash personality and social media presence. He has been involved in several public spats and controversies, including a much-publicized altercation with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team after McGregor’s loss at UFC 229 in 2018.
Where is Dillon Danis From?
Dillon Danis was born and raised in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey.
Dillon Danis’ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Career
Dillon Danis had a bright Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Career. Starting the sport at 15 years old, after he was involved in a fight at his local high school.
Danis would go on to reach great heights in the sport. The now MMA star would go on to train under the legendary Marcelo Garcia, in New York. At 19 Danis would make BJJ a full-time sport, achieving a world championship title at brown belt and also competing in submission grappling invitationals, such as Polaris.
Unfortunately thanks to Danis building a bad reputation for himself, he would be asked to leave Marcelo Garcia’s gym as his image no longer aligned with the values of Marcelo and the Gym.
Danis would then go and spend some time training at Unity and other gyms in the New York area.
What is Dillon Danis’ Record in MMA?
Dillon Danis made his debut in Bellator in April 2018 against Kyle Walker, where he won via toehold submission in the first round. His second fight at Bellator 222 was against Max Humphreys, where Danis won the fight via an armbar in the first round.
Dillon Danis currently holds a record of 2-0 in MMA and has not competed since 2019 due to ongoing injuries and surgery.
Dillon Danis’ Next Fight Against KSI
At the time of writing, Dillon Danis is scheduled to fight social media star KSI in a boxing match on January 14th, 2023 in Wembley Arena, London.
In unsurprising fashion, the lead-up to this fight has been surrounded by controversy. In the press conference, the pair faced off and Danis struck KSI before throwing coffee over the social media star. This led to a brawl breaking out inside the building, where it would spill out into the parking lot.
Why was Dillon Danis Arrested?
Dillon Danis was arrested in 2021 for disorderly conduct after he was allegedly “creating a disturbance”, which saw him getting choked unconscious by a bouncer.
While in a bar in Seaside Heights, New Jersey Danis would have an altercation with a Bouncer and he would be seen to be arrested after the Bouncer got Danis in a Rear Naked Choke and would proceed to choke the professional MMA fighter unconscious.
In recent interviews, Danis would go on to talk about how the Bouncer impersonated a Police officer and how he was actually getting jumped by 9 people.
“I’m not allowed to move, so I’m standing on the boardwalk — I would have left,” Danis said. “But when you’re in those places, if you call an Uber, it takes an hour for them to come. They started saying some derogatory terms; I’m not going to bring them up.”
“They start going at everybody and I’m like, ‘Bro, come on.’ They bring a bunch of bartenders from inside, and it’s like nine people, and they surround me,” Danis continued. “So nine guys are around me, and I’m friggin’ on a leg brace. I just had surgery. I’m not allowed to turn my leg, so I can’t box. So then they all start circling me.”
Dillon Danis’ Net Worth
Dillon Danis’ is estimated to be worth around $2-3 million. However, the source of this net worth is largely surrounded by mystery as the fighter has not competed in professional MMA in 3 years. His other businesses are largely a mystery.
Dillon Danis and Conor McGregor’s Relationship
In 2016 Dillon Danis would become more famous in the world of Mixed Martial Arts as he was picked to become Conor McGregor’s sparring partner to help prepare him for his fight against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.
Since then Danis would be seen alongside McGregor at a number of his fights and events, including getting involved in a heated fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team after McGregor’s loss at UFC 229 in 2018 against Khabib.
These days Conor and Dillon are no longer seen in public but the two are known to still be friends.
Dillon Danis and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Fight
In 2018 Dillon Danis and Khabib Nurmagomedov would come to blows after Conor would lose to the former Dagestani UFC Champion.
At their match in UFC 229 it was reported that Danis was shouting obscenities at Nurmagomedov during the fight. These claims however were wrong, which the Dagestani fighter cleared up in an interview.
“No, I didn’t hear him, you know,” Nurmagomedov told Submission Radio. “I didn’t hear him, it was too loud.”
“I jumped on him because [the] other corner is too old; because Conor’s other corner, other coaches, too old, and that’s why I jumped on him,” said Nurmagomedov. “Because he’s almost like my age.”
“If I jumped on [coach John] Kavanagh, I don’t think it’s too — cause Kavanagh can’t fight me. That’s why I jumped on [Danis].”
Nurmagomedov added: “I don’t like his whole team. I have [a] choice [in] what I’m gonna do, but all [the] other old coaches were too old for me. They cannot fight with me. They’re almost like my father’s age.”
Dillon Danis’ Mom. Who is Nikki Daniels?
Recently she was part of a social media assault by KSI, Dillon Danis’ mom has been seen on social media with the athlete multiple times.
Named Nikki Daniels, it was Dillon’s mother who had a large role in influencing his son to follow a martial arts career but enrolled him in various MMA schools.
Conclusion
Dillon Danis is an accomplished martial artist and MMA fighter, who has had a career that has seen him rise to great heights. Despite his controversy–filled public persona and past brushes with the law, Danis continues to be a well–known figure in the world of mixed martial arts. His upcoming boxing match against KSI will undoubtedly be one of his most high–profile bouts yet and fans around the world can‘t wait to see how it turns out.