Conor McGregor's former training partner reportedly set to make combat sports return after 4 years
Conor McGregor's former teammate Dillon Danis is reportedly set to make his combat sports return four years after last competing. Danis will compete in a professional grappling match at Polaris, as opposed to fighting in the Bellator cage.
Polaris is Europe's longest running grappling event and is considered to be one of the most prestigious in the world of grappling and jiu-jitsu.
While Danis last fought in MMA back in 2019, he last competed in grappling six years ago at ADCC 2017. Dillon Danis lost the first fight in his division (-88 kgs) to grappling phenom and multi-time ADCC winner Gordon Ryan.
In the very same event, he also competed in the absolute division, winning one bout against Yukiyasu Ozawa and losing to Mahamed Aly.
Watch Dillon Danis vs. Gordon Ryan at ADCC 2017:
Dillon Danis received major clout after he was picked by Conor McGregor's team to help with grappling while preparing for Nate Diaz at UFC 196. A relatively unknown figure in the MMA world, Danis quickly gained notoriety for taking on the personality of 'The Notorious' and playing it up several notches.
Since then, to this day, Danis has thrashed-talked nearly every top fighter across various promotions, even though he fought only twice in MMA.
When Conor McGregor requested Ariel Helwani to go easy on Dillon Danis
In a recent appearance on MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Dillon Danis refused to shake Helwani's hand in response to a beef the two had at the start of the year. Although mostly civil, Danis managed to push Helwani to the point of the veteran MMA journalist turning 'Heelwani' and roasting Danis for 20 straight minutes.
Here's just one bit of Ariel Helwani roasting Dillon Danis:
"What the f**k happened to you? How did you go from this incredible talent in world of BJJ, to this guy who hasn't fought since 2019? How long ago was that? We're approaching four years [now, since you last fought]."
When Dillon Danis' MMA mentor Conor McGregor appeared on the MMA Hour, he made a case for the jiu-jitsu fighter and asked Ariel Helwani to lay off of him. Here's what Conor McGregor said to Helwani in defense of Dillon Danis:
"When Dillon was here, I love the little vibe he's bad back-and-forth [with you]. You know, Dillon's a good friend of mine, I hope, I wish [you didn't roast him like you did]. You were going at him a bit hard, you do go at him a bit hard. He had an injury, he's only a young lad."
Skip to 20:08 for Conor McGregor defending Dillon Danis: