NEW YORK – Islam Makhachev had no teammates competing with him at UFC 322, yet he still saw his people get into a fight Saturday.
Several members from Team Eagle got into a fight with Dillon Danis during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. It was a big brawl that erupted right at the start of the pay-per-view main card, just a couple of hours before Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) defeated UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena (18-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the headliner.
Advertisement
Makhachev thought Danis had it coming and it was just a matter of the two parties crossing paths.
“When you talk about someone like for the last five years, when you meet them, you have to answer for what you said, you know,” Makhachev told reporters at the UFC 322 post-fight press conference. “Today, I don’t think he answered. He still says a lot of things about our team and today he coming and somebody just meet him. He talked about these guys bad and today the guys just meet him. That’s it.”
Danis, who’s made a name for himself in MMA for his online trash talk and beefing with fighters, had long been bad-mouthing Team Eagle. The rivalry started when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor fought in a grudge match in 2018. A lot was said between the two camps in the lead up, and after the fight at UFC 229, the two teams got into a giant brawl, including Danis, who was cornering McGregor.
Although the Nurmagomedov-McGregor beef dimmed down over the years, Danis continued his social media attacks on Team Eagle. UFC CEO Dana White said that Danis is now banned from attending UFC events following this latest incident.
Advertisement
When asked to react to the ban, Russia’s Makhachev had another idea for Danis, who was born in New York.
“He has to be banned from this country also,” Makhachev said.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Islam Makhachev reacts to Team Eagle vs. Dillon Danis brawl at UFC 322
