Dillon Danis’ latest altercation has caught the attention of New York’s political authorities.
New York City mayor Eric Adams addressed the chaotic scenes at UFC 322 from two weekends ago — which featured a brawl involving Danis and members of UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev’s team at Madison Square Garden — with a firm statement published Monday night via social media.
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Said Adams, sharing a video of the incident:
“These assaults at Madison Square Garden are completely unacceptable. The NYPD is already conducting a full investigation, and everyone responsible will be held accountable.”
The brawl occurred ahead of UFC 322’s main card, when Danis entered an area near Makhachev’s team and was seemingly attacked by UFC newcomer Magomed “Chanco” Zaynukov and other individuals. In response, UFC CEO Dana White announced after the event that Danis had been banned from UFC events moving forward.
Said White:
“I blame myself for that actually. They came back and told me right before I walked out for the main card that Dillon Danis was here, and he was moving around sitting in fighters’ seats and not sitting in his own seat that he had. He had a ticket. And they said, ‘Do you want us to throw him out of here?’ And I said, ‘He has a ticket?’ And they said, ‘Yeah.’ And they told me, they said, ‘[Jorge] Masvidal said he’s going to f*** him up on sight.’ And I said, ‘Well, where’s Masvidal sitting?’ He said, ‘Well, he’s six or seven rows away from Masvidal.’ I said, ‘Well, if the guy has a ticket, let him sit in his seat and let him do what he’s doing, and keep an eye on him.’
It never even crossed my mind, as stupid as this could be, that the entire Muslim brotherhood was here tonight in the first five rows for Islam [Makhachev]. And as soon as it broke out, I was over on the other side and I go, ‘F***. I know exactly what that is.’ And I knew it. And yeah, you will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again.
While the UFC chose not to press criminal charges against Danis and the other fighters involved, Adams emphasized the NYPD’s independent role in the investigation.
The history between Danis and Makhachev’s team goes back to 2018, when Danis was part of Conor McGregor’s team. The American grappler aided in McGregor’s jiu-jitsu training ahead of McGregor’s big grudge match against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. In the infamous post-fight brawl that ensued immediately after Nurmagomedov’s victory, Nurmagomedov leapt out of the cage to attack Danis and all hell broke loose, prompting a myriad of fines and suspensions for those involved.
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Clearly, the bad blood hasn’t died down over the previous seven years.
Danis, 32, recently returned to MMA for the first time in six years. At Misfits 22 in October, Danis submitted Warren Spencer in 15 seconds to become the inaugural Misfits MMA champion at 175 pounds. He is currently scheduled to return for his first title defense against Anthony Taylor on Dec. 20 in Dubai.
