"He's very low level" - Ben Askren reveals why Dillon Danis is not an elite MMA fighter
Ben Askren believes Dillon Danis is not a top-notch MMA fighter despite being incredibly skilled in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. 'Funky' cited Danis' inactivity behind his assertion. He claimed Danis needs to challenge more competitive fighters to establish himself as a serious contender in Bellator.
Askren is set to go up against Jake Paul next week in the headliner bout of the PPV event hosted by Triller Fight Club.
The former UFC welterweight recently appeared on Logan Paul's podcast, Impaulsive, where he weighed in on Danis' fighting aptitudes. According to Ben Askren, Danis is a "low level" MMA fighter:
"He's under MMA contract, and he hasn't fought in almost two years, so I don't know what he's doing. And he's very low level too. He has fought two really bad guys. It's not like he's fighting the best guys in Bellator. He's not even close to that level yet," said Ben Askren.
Askren also speculated Danis' two opponents in Bellator were hand-picked. He said Danis is a big name in the realm of jiu-jitsu, and his formidable social media presence helped him choose his opponents:
"Dillon is just like, you've done good at jiu-jitsu, that's fine. But if you're gonna be a fighter, you've actually have to fight people. Both the guys he's fought were under 500 and I'm pretty sure they were kind of hand-picked opponents because he does have a big name from jiu jitsu. And his social media presence because of (Conor) McGregor," Askren added.
Ben Askren had claimed Dillon Danis was scared to fight Jake Paul
During a press conference for the upcoming Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul fight, 'Funky' threw a light on Dillon Danis' reluctance to challenge the YouTuber. He said Danis was offered a contract to fight Paul, but he walked out of the potential bout by claiming he's recovering from a surgery.
Danis confirmed that he indeed received an offer from Paul. But he refused to take the fight since he couldn't have possibly fought just after undergoing surgery. The Bellator star is 2-0 as a professional MMA fighter, having last competed in June of 2019. Both of his wins have come by way of dominant submission wins.