Dillon Danis has came to prominence in the public sphere in recent months threw his involvement with Conor McGregor. The lightweight champion has seemingly created a close relationship with the 23 year old New Jerseyan who is no stranger to competing at an elite level, having earned a black belt under Marcelo Garcia.
In last night's edition of the MMA Hour, Danis spoke to Ariel Helwani about the past year in the company of McGregor;
That’s why me and him [Conor McGregor] get on really well, ‘cause we’re kinda similar in that sense. We don’t really give a fuck. We are who we are. We don’t really hide it. We don’t shy away from what people say about us. I’m still going to be me, I don’t care what the haters say…and he’s the same way.
Blood couldn't make us any closer got your back till the end my brother! #animals pic.twitter.com/Dp02tv77D1
— Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) November 26, 2016
Dillon Danis - who now resides in New York - accompanied the Dubliner during fight week and was by his side as he made the walk to the octagon in a sold out Madison Square Garden at UFC 205;
It’s a special thing living here, growing up here, to walk out with him. To see him walk out and make history in my hometown, it was an unbelievable feeling.
Being in the streets and feeling the presence of people. I’d park in the street to get food and people would be running up to the car [to McGregor].
It drove me to be there one day, to do the same thing and win belts at MSG. To feel the energy of the arena, I can’t explain what it did to me.
He became the latest in a long list of people to voice their opinion over the UFC's decision to strip Conor McGregor of the featherweight title, stating; "It’s sad. It doesn’t make any sense to me...José Aldo can say he’s the champ but we all know what happened."
Despite the apparent tension between the organisation and McGregor's camp, Dillon Danis wholeheartedly believes he will compete under the banner one day as he aims to make the transition from Brazilian jiu-jitsu to mixed martial arts where he will train under "mentor" John Kavanagh at SBG.
When asked if there is a chance of Conor McGregor fighting Floyd Mayweather after earning his boxing licence, Danis suggested that possibility is very real:
100% it’s a possibility. I know he’s thinking about it. Every guy in boxing now is calling him out, so he has options. Where he is now, I think he beats Mayweather
I think they need to beg him a little bit more and he’ll do it. He’s thinking about it, that’s all I can say. It’s definitely an option that is on his mind.
If Mayweather gets the money for him then it will happen, 100%.
We'll just have to wait and see. You can watch Dillon Danis on The MMA Hour via the full episode below:
