Dillon Danis - Multiple Times World MMA Champion

Dillon Danis, born on August 22,1993 in New Jersey, United States, is a professional mixed martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Marcelo Garcia. His utmost efforts in jiu-jitsu’s hardest events, where he proved himself and got recognition in the MMA world. Dillon has competed in the Welterweight Division in Bellator, the IBJJF New York Spring Open Championship, and the IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Championship. He is also well known for his association with UFC Champion Conor McGregor. 

At the age of 15, Dillon Danis started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a means of self defense. Danis got into a street fight soon after in which he pulled off a choke and he immediately joined a jiu-jitsu gym to improve his instincts.

Dillon began training more frequently as he joined the jiu-jitsu academy of Renzo Gracie Black Belt and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trainer Jamie Cruz.

Danis was a weak youngster at the time, who (according to his own admission) couldn't execute even a single push-up. The fact that he was training with adults further increased the complexity of the situation.

For the sake of enhancing his personal grappling development, Dillon got himself into wrestling classes in Parsippany Hills High School and trained under Jason Lodato. Dillon achieved two successful wrestling campaigns with a record of 296 (W/L).

In his late teen years, he started training with the BJJ idol Marcelo Garcia at his famous Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City.

In 2012, Danis moved to New York City to train full time and decided to pursue his professional career in jiu-jitsu grappling. For three years, till 2015, Danis has won dozens of medals from national and international events in Absolute or Openweight Tournaments.

Danis won a bronze medal at the IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Championships.

In 2013, Dillon was promoted to brown belt and repeated his bouts in the Absolute and Openweight Divisions. At the IBJJF New York Summer Open, he won gold medals in his weight class at both the IBJJF American No-Gi and IBJJF Pan American Championships.

In 2014, Dillon won four Pan American Gold medals and became the Abu Dhabi World Pro Champion (UAEJJF).

At the time, Dillon had become a World Champion three times and won multiple gold medals in the Gi and No-Gi tournaments.

In 2015, Dillon, a brown belt, picked miscellaneous championship medals and became the IBJJF Boca Raton International Open Champion.

For Dillon’s successful career throughout the years, Marcelo Garcia promoted him to a black belt in April 2015.

In his first ADCC, Dillon fought Garry Tonon, a multi-winner Eddie Bravo International (EBI) and Danaher Death Squad fighter. Garry submitted Dillon with an inside heel hook and won the tournament.

In 2016, Danis won over Gottrell King, plus Brazilian legend and Unity jiu-jitsu fighter Murilo Santana winning multiple gold medals.

The second encounter between Garry Tonon and Danis took place in a Polaris 5 rematch, and Tonon was victorious once more, claiming the match by decision.

Later, at the World Championships, Danis was defeated by World Champions Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa and Luiz Panza based on points. In addition, Danis was defeated by UFC veteran Jake Shields in overtime at Submission Underground 4.

Danis was invited to join the Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Conor McGregor’s team as a coach and chief grappling training partner right before the notorious' battle against Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in 2016.

Dillon quickly proved himself as one of the camp's most prominent figures, especially given the frequent troubles that occurred between the two training camps in the lead-up to the game.

In April 2017, after Dillon Danis's personality evolved at the McGregor camp, he became more vocal on social media. The bad boy stigma drove Marcelo Garcia to end his relationship with him, stating that this was not the impression he wanted to be linked with his academy.

Dillon achieved impressive scores, submitting world famous champions like Josh Hinger, Patrick Gaudio, Luan Carvalho, and Edwin Najmi.

Danis competed in several events during 2017, nearly all of which were world-class competitions.

At the 2017 ADCC, Dillon submitted Japanese grappler and MMA star Yukiyasu Ozawa.

In March 2017, Dillon started his own MMA career by signing with Bellator.

In April 2018, Dillon faced Kyle Walker with two losses via submission. In the rematch, Dillon attacked Walker with a textbook perfect toe-hold, making Walker tap out within a few minutes. 

At the 2018 ADCC, Dillon lost to World Champion Mahamed Aly and top no-gi grappler Gordon Ryan, who were both defeated by penalty and the referee's decision.

In January 2020, Dillon was scheduled to fight at Bellator 238 but he backed off due to a knee injury he sustained when he was helping McGregor train for UFC 246 against Donald Cerron. Dillon went into reconstructive surgery in March 2020.

During UFC 268 event, inside Madison Square Garden, New York City, Dillon got into an argument with a Combat Sports Talent manager named Ali Abdelaziz who represented huge MMA fighting stars like Kamaru Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Kayla Harrison. 

He was slapped by Abdelaziz and Dillon Danis was banned from all UFC events. The reason behind the argument is still unclear.

In September 2021, Dillon was charged and arrested for misbehaving at Beachcomber Bar and Grill in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. He was choked by the security guard to get him in control, handcuffed, and taken to custody. The video of the young Bellator fighter went viral and the fighter was criticized by many for his actions.

Back in October 2018, at UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov, former undefeated lightweight champion, scaled the cage and attacked Dillon Danis after winning against Conor Mcgregor.

High security was involved to separate both groups for which both teams were banned from all the UFC events as a result .

• IBJJF Pan Champion
• IBJJF World Champion
• UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro
• IBJJF Boca Raton Open Champion

Full Fight | Dillon Danis vs Kyle Walker - Bellator 198

Full Fight | Dillon Danis vs. Max Humphrey | Bellator 222

Dillon Danis: Marcelo Garcia 'Dream Team' black belt || BJJ Hacks in NYC

Conor Mcgregor & Dillon Danis training ahead of UFC 205

Love Him Or Hate Him, Dillon Danis Has Smooth Jiu-Jitsu

Photo credit: @dillondanis