Latest news with #Danis
USA Today
01-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Dillon Danis vows to retire Tony Ferguson ahead of GFL matchup
Dillon Danis plans to put the nail in the coffin of Tony Ferguson's MMA career. Danis (2-0), who is a part of GFL's Team New York, takes on Team Los Angeles' Ferguson (25-11) in a lightweight main event bout May 25 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In his most recent outing, Ferguson suffered a UFC-record eighth consecutive loss when he was submitted by Michael Chiesa this past August. Danis aims to add to 'El Cucuy's' losing skid. 'I'm going to retire Tony Ferguson and bury 'El Cucuy' in the same grave as his win streak,' Danis told MMA Junkie in a text message Tuesday. Danis was scheduled to face KSI in a 185-pound boxing match, slated to headline Misfits Boxing 21 on March 29 in Manchester, England. However, the bout was scrapped when KSI withdrew due to illness. The controversial jiu-jitsu practitioner hasn't competed since boxing YouTube and WWE star Logan Paul in October 2023 – a fight he lost by disqualification. His last MMA fight came in June 2019 when he submitted Max Humphrey at Bellator 222. While Danis is booked to face Ferguson in May, his in-cage return might come even sooner. In a recent interview on 'The Ariel Helwani Show,' Mike Perry revealed that he said yes to replacing KSI against Danis, but in a Misfits-first MMA fight, which would likely take place in April. 'KSI is out, Dillon Danis wants to fight MMA,' Perry said. 'I'm saying yes, so we have got to see what Mams (Taylor) is coming up with over there in Misfits, and they're changing it completely because he was going to fight KSI in boxing. Looks like the date has changed a little bit but might not be too far away. So I said yes to fighting Dillon Danis in MMA, but they've got to come correct. It's a last-minute call, so if they want to make the fight happen, let's do it.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mike Perry claims MMA fight against Dillon Danis in the works, close to finalizing Robbie Lawler in BKFC
Mike Perry is itching to get back into a fight. The face of bare-knuckle boxing has been absent from competition strapping his gloves back on for a boxing match against Jake Paul in July 2024, however Perry revealed Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that there's a chance he'll stick with the gloves for his next professional appearance — albeit in an unexpected MMA return. Following KSI's recent withdrawal from a scheduled March 29 boxing match against Dillon Danis, Perry, 33, claimed that KSI's Misfits Boxing promotion reached out to put together an MMA bout with Danis. Advertisement "Dillon Danis wants to fight MMA," Perry said. "I'm saying yes, but we gotta see what [Misfits Boxing promoter] Mams [Taylor] is coming up with over there in Misfits. "It looks like the date changed a little bit, might not be too far away. I might get in trouble for dropping that. Why not? Let's go, man. So I said yes to fighting Dillon Danis in MMA, but they gotta come correct. It's a last-minute call. If they want to make the fight happen, let's do it." Perry's alleged offer comes as a surprise for multiple reasons, as Misfits historically hosts only boxing matches. Perry is unsure where a Danis matchup might occur, though the KSI bout was supposed to happen in London. Perry's last MMA fight resulted in a 2021 unanimous decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez under the UFC umbrella. Advertisement Danis, meanwhile, must first worry about his own scheduled MMA return against Tony Ferguson in the Global Fight League (GFL) on May 25. If Danis were to fight Perry, the BKFC star could serve as a potential roadblock for that GFL debut, as Perry claimed the alleged bout is in talks for April. "Maybe he doesn't want to risk that fight, and it depends on if BKFC wants to risk anything," Perry said. "You know Danis is going to try to grab my foot and I'm going to try to soccer kick him in the face, for sure. PRIDE rules, baby. "Dillon wants it. Dillon's been wanting it and hasn't had a scrapper with four-ounce gloves, and I'll just stop them takedowns. He's going to have to pull guard and I got some ground-and-pound too, so let's do it." Perry has been relatively active in BKFC since joining the roster in 2022. He's fought twice a year — except in 2024 — but appeared to create a brief rift with the bare-knuckle outlet after accepting the Paul boxing match and starting his own Dirty Boxing (DBX) fight promotion. Nonetheless, Perry insisted his relationship with BKFC remains intact and that each party is simply busy with several endeavors. BKFC co-owner Conor McGregor even vouched for Perry's return at a recent press conference. Advertisement "There's options out there for me," Perry said. "Even Conor McGregor was saying, 'Mike Perry needs to come home,' and he said something about having a fight with me even at some point and he thinks it would be a great fight. That's not here right now. Obviously he's booked up with the UFC, they're using that, and I know BKFC has been working on something [for me]. An opponent may have said he needed 'X' amount of time. We're trying to see how much time that is today. A lot of questions were supposed to be answered about certain things, and then I got this random call yesterday — and it wasn't about DBX. "If I could lock down a time frame, and it looks like I might be getting this last-minute call, which I said yes to, then it's just in the gym preparing, and nothing's going to take me out of that zone." Advertisement As much as Perry would enjoy something out of the box, like a fantasy McGregor matchup, he's looking at the Irishman's recent comments as an indicator that a deal on his next fight will be made soon. Perry has been poking at the idea of a BKFC match against former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler since his last fight. "Platinum" believes the pairing will happen, ideally between June and November — even if a Danis fight in MMA does actually materialize for April. "My [BKFC] contract, I still had three fights left that I would like to fight. I would like to fight those fights," Perry said. "And like I said, it has to make sense. The company's been ... working with other big companies. They have to speak with other companies sometimes in order to get the things they want done. So like I was saying, [McGregor] said that because maybe now you're about to see me come back. "Everyone says it, the fans say it — you're not seeing it [in BKFC] the way that you do when 'Platinum' steps in there."
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
KSI withdraws from Dillon Danis fight at Misfits Boxing 21, Danis reacts
KSI and Dillon Danis now share one fight withdrawal apiece. KSI has been forced to withdraw from his March 29 fight with Danis at Misfits Boxing 21 in Manchester, England due to illness, Misfits Boxing announced Friday morning. The fight has not been canceled but is instead postponed, with a rescheduled date expected to be confirmed shortly. The pair were originally scheduled to fight in January 2023, but on that first occasion it was Danis who pulled out of the fight, citing insufficient preparation. Danis sucker-punched KSI with a left hook at their first faceoff in 2022, which intensified his rivalry with KSI. For their rescheduled bout, it was KSI who smacked Danis with a pancake on National Pancake Day — following in the footsteps of Chris Eubank Jr.'s egg slap on Conor Benn. 🚨 Statement from @KSI 🚨 — Misfits Boxing (@MisfitsBoxing) March 21, 2025 'I tried my hardest, but my body has legit just given up,' KSI said. 'I'm currently in bed, taking antibiotics, trying to recover, but I'm struggling. I'm coughing up greenish, yellow s*** all the time. My sinuses are hurting to the point where I need Ibuprofen every day. The tension headaches right here that I'm getting are more painful than you can imagine. I'm using Sudafed daily. I tried sparring and training, but my body feels weak. My stamina is just falling off a cliff. I can't even taste right now or smell. Basically, I'm f***ed. I've been ill for almost three weeks and it's just not gotten better.' "Honestly, I've never been this ill for this long in my life, and I hate it. I feel useless and it's depressing. I feel like I've let so many people down. I haven't been able to post any YouTube videos to help promote the fight because I've just been feeling so s***. I'm just sick of being sick, man, and I'm sorry. I want to move the fight to another day, because I still want to knock out Dillon Danis, and I didn't train this hard for nothing.' I remember my first cold. — Dillon Danis (@dillondanis) March 21, 2025 Unsurprisingly, Danis was not quick to wish KSI a speedy recovery. The former Bellator fighter mocked KSI's withdrawal, writing on social media, "I remember my first cold," and calling KSI a "p***y" for failing to go through with the fight. KSI and Danis were last in action in October 2023, when both suffered decision losses under the Misfits Boxing banner to Tommy Fury and Logan Paul, respectively.
USA Today
21-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Misfits Boxing postpones KSI vs. Dillon Danis event for KSI illness
Almost as quickly as it suddenly was a thing again, KSI vs. Dillon Danis is off. It's veja du, Hawkhead. The two were supposed to box in early 2023, but Danis (0-1) pulled out less than two weeks before the fight. This time, it's KSI (4-1) who is out. The influencer boxer posted a video Friday to say he's been sick for three weeks and he won't be able to fight. Because of that, Misfits Boxing announced Friday it has postponed the entire event, which was set for March 29 at Manchester Arena in England. The promotion said a new date will be announced next week. In response, the typically brash Danis took aim at KSI in a social media post. The X Series 21 'Unfinished Business' card was set to stream on pay-per-view through DAZN. It was to be contested at 185 pounds. Danis has built a reputation for inactivity and withdrawals. Since his final Bellator MMA fight in June 2019, Danis has competed once in non-grappling contests. That appearance was an October 2023 exhibition boxing match against Logan Paul. Danis was disqualified in Round 6 for unsportsmanlike conduct. Similar to Jake Paul in America, KSI has become a massive draw for influencer boxing in the United Kingdom. He's competed in six exhibition boxing matches against a handful of influencers, as well as undefeated boxer Joe Fournier and journeyman Luis Alcaraz Pineda. KSI has also competed twice professionally. He beat Logan Paul by split decision in his pro debut in 2019, then lost to Tommy Fury in October 2023.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dillon Danis expects more aggressive Alex Pereira for Ankalaev rematch 'now that he knows he can't get taken down'
Dillon Danis expects more aggressive Alex Pereira for Ankalaev rematch 'now that he knows he can't get taken down' Dillon Danis wasn't surprised to see Alex Pereira's takedown defense hold up against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313, even if those defensive grappling efforts weren't enough to secure "Poatan" a fourth defense of his light heavyweight title. A former high-level BJJ prospect and Bellator fighter, Danis trained within Pereira's camp ahead of the long-awaited showdown with Ankalaev, which "Poatan" ultimately lost via unanimous decision. Danis said he expected Pereira to be prepared for any takedown threats, and Pereira came through in that regard by stuffing all 12 attempts from Ankalaev. Speaking Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Danis explained that if anything caught him off guard, it was Pereira losing because of a lack of offensive output. "I knew that he wasn't going to get taken down," Danis said. "I was 100% with that — 0-12, I knew that was going to happen. The one thing that surprised me, obviously, I can't talk because I'm not Alex, and I'm not the f***ing best striker in the UFC right now, but he just looked gun-shy to me. Didn't he? Advertisement "It wasn't as aggressive. I think now that he has so much confidence in the wrestling [defense] that he didn't get taken down, he's going to throw more the next fight. But I think maybe it was just a confidence in the wrestling. After the first round, I noticed when he asked [coach] Glover [Teixeira], 'How'd I do on the takedown defense?' Then maybe that was in his head, like, 'OK, if I throw, I'm going to get taken down.' So I think now that he knows he can't get taken down, he's going to come in and throw." "He's actually one of the strongest people I've felt in my whole life," Danis added of Pereira. "He's crazy how strong he is. He's awesome, man. I love training with him." Danis shared that the duo went hard in sparring ahead of UFC 313, having done plenty of rounds in camp, which made the lack of aggression all the more shocking. Still, Pereira was in good spirits after the loss, promising in his first post-fight message to "make some adjustments for the rematch" and come back much better for his second crack at Ankalaev. Advertisement Luckily for Pereira, he may get his wish, as UFC CEO Dana White declared after the fight that a rematch with Ankalaev "probably" makes sense to do next. Danis, meanwhile, marches forward toward his own combat sports comeback. The polarizing 31-year-old is set to box KSI at a Misfits Boxing event on March 29 before stepping into the cage for his first MMA fight in six years when he faces Tony Ferguson in the Global Fight League (GFL) on May 11. Danis said he was initially reluctant to accept the KSI boxing match because of his intense interest in the Ferguson fight — or at least he was until the money offered became too much, bringing Danis back to boxing for the first time since his sixth-round disqualification loss to Logan Paul in October 2023. "They came at me with this, and I said, 'No man, I have other fights coming up,'" Danis said. "Then they just kept pushing the money up, pushing the money up. Advertisement "[I'm going to earn] a lot. It will be more [than a $1 million]. Pay-per-view [points] too, so it could be more. "That f***ing hurts me because it was 1.3 million [pay-per-views sold last time against Paul]," he continued. "They said basically, 'If you don't say yes to this, we're not going with you.' And they knew I'm getting sued. It's so f***ed up. I made a lot of money [against Paul], but not what I would have with 50 cents or a dollar [of revenue per] pay-per-view [sold], which [Paul] got and KSI got when they're already billionaires or whatever the f*** they are. So f***ed up." Danis is optimistically working toward his bouts, though he claimed to still be without a contract for the Ferguson clash. He's hoping everything works out as planned with GFL's launch because MMA remains his dream, and a fight with Ferguson is something he didn't foresee as his third outing in the sport. "I love MMA, and it's Tony Ferguson," Danis said. "At the end of the day, it's Tony Ferguson. It doesn't matter, [Ferguson's] losing streak, whatever. It's a big win."
