Conor McGregor Reacts to Friend and Training Partner Dillon Danis’s First Bellator Victory…
Dillon Danis is one of those polarizing figures in MMA. He’s trying really hard to make a name for himself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, many people think that he’s trying to ride off the success of his friend and training partner Conor McGregor.
He’s been called fake and a ‘Conor McGregor Wannabe’ in the past. Danis is a very confident guy. Amongst many things he’s said in the runup to his debut at Bellator 198 in Illinois was that he “will run Bellator” after beating the unknown Kyle Walker. You get the picture.
Anyway, after beating Walker, who was basically a sacrificial lamb, Conor McGregor himself reacted to his friend and proteges win. He posted on Instagram a picture of the pair together and showed his appreciation of the up-and-coming star. Isn’t that sweet of him?
Submission
Dillon Danis is a jiu-jitsu expert and submission artist. He’s trained at SBG Dublin in the past and helped prepare McGregor for the Nate Diaz II and Eddie Alvarez fights. He radiates confidence, and it was regarded as a coup by Bellator to sign him.
He is totally unproven in MMA and it’s not harsh to say that this was obvious from his fight against Kyle Walker. Walker had 2-3 record going into this one. No disrespect to the man, but he’s nothing special. Yet he still managed to land the better of the early exchanges. It remains to be seen how Danis copes against an elite striker.
Of course, once Danis got Walker down to the mat the fight was basically over. He threatened with an armbar before he managed to lock in a toehold submission. The fight was over at 1.38 of the first round. Shaky start but a great finish.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiItj0IHYPA/?hl=en&taken-by=thenotoriousmma
McGregor Reacts
Danis will have been delighted to see Conor McGregor’s reaction to his win. The Irishman is incredibly loyal to his closest friends and training partners. Danis bailed him out of jail after the UFC 223 bus attack, so it’s fair to say they’re pretty close at this point. A ‘Congrats’ on Instagram was the least the New Yorker could expect. McGregor wrote:
“Congrats to my brother @dillondanis on winning his MMA debut tonight! #Proud.”
Isn’t that sweet? It was a decent start to Danis’s MMA career. However, Bellator is going to have to manage him very carefully because there is no denying he is very one-dimensional right now. Danis is an elite grappler but has a long way to go when it comes to the striking arts. However, with a bit of work, he could be something special.
Callout
He knows exactly who he wants to face next as well. The former ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren was the name on Danis’s lips. One of two fighters, along with Fedor Emelianenko, regarded as the best never to fight in the UFC, he is truly a phenomenal talent. He’s also technically retired and very much unbeaten. Danis said:
“I believe I am the one to derail his undefeated streak. He would not be able to handle me on the ground and he has no striking, so it would end up on the ground. I feel I would go submit him easy.”
You have to admire his confidence at the very least. It remains to be seen if Askren responds or just laughs at him, but it’s very unlikely that the former Olympian will be his next opponent. Danis will be back. It will be fascinating to see how he progresses.
