Dillon Danis has expressed his desire to compete in the UFC but faces several challenges, including an upcoming boxing match with Logan Paul and an existing contract with Bellator; he nonetheless believes this could be a stepping stone towards bigger things in his fighting career.
Dillon Danis, the 30-year-old martial artist, has expressed his desire to step into the UFC scene if he is successful in his boxing match against Logan Paul. Danis shared on The MMA Hour that he is ready to see if he can compete with the best. “If I go to the UFC, give me your toughest fight. Give me Ian Garry, give me Neil Magny. Anybody. Leon Edwards. That would be the easiest fight. Colby [Covington], anybody,” he stated.
On the road to his proposed UFC dreams, however, Danis has many obstacles to overcome. The most immediate one is his six-round fight with Logan Paul, set to happen on Oct. 14. Despite being outweighed by a good 30 pounds, Danis boldly predicts he will stop Paul. He is confident about all possible scenarios. “I think he quits on the stool, or they throw in the towel, or I knock him out, or a TKO,” he said. “Or I choke him unconscious.”
Moreover, further impacting Danis’s plans is the contract he signed six years ago with Bellator. The situation remains uncertain due to potential changes in Bellator’s operations. The contract could have immense bearing on his future, as it could possibly deny him opportunities outside of Bellator. Even though it is a hurdle, the fighter claimed that he might be signed up by Misfits Boxing, the boxing promotion backed by popular names like KSI and Mams Taylor.
Danis hinted at the possibility of a fight with Jake Paul, Logan Paul’s younger brother and longtime rival. “[Misfits is] trying to sign me, if I beat him,” Danis mentioned. He also highlighted his preference for Jiu-Jitsu and criticized the boxing sport. Danis’s comeback to the competition will be marked four years after his last MMA bout, a first-round submission win at Bellator 222. Despite undergoing surgeries and admitting his knees weren’t fully recovered, he said they didn’t need to be for the Paul fight. After his spat with Paul and Paul’s fiancee Nina Agdal on social media, Danis has much to prove in the boxing match. However, he also sees it as a stepping stone to a successful MMA career.