’Tis that time of year again, folks. While most Americans are sitting around shoveling turkey, dressing, various casseroles, candied yams and mashed potatoes into their faces before mellowing out to a tryptophan overdose and an NFL tripleheader, the staff at Sherdog.com has compiled its All-Turkey Team for 2025. In the past, mixed martial arts has provided us with quite a few questionable characters, and this year has been no exception. The latest group of offenders—or members—delivered an eclectic rap sheet yet all their own …
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
That famous quote came from George Santayana’s “The Life of Reason,” which was written in 1905. More than a century later, it applies perfectly to Dillon Danis, who apparently hasn’t learned the lesson that it’s unwise to pick a fight with an angry group of Dagestanis.
Back in 2018, Danis was the target of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ire when he jumped out of the Octagon after submitting Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event. Danis was restrained by security—probably best for his safety—as he made obscene gestures toward Nurmagomedov and his team. As a result, Danis was fined $7,500 and suspended for seven months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It could have been far worse had Nurmagomedov gotten his hands on the brash grappler.
Outside of a victory at Bellator 222 in June 2019 and a couple Misfits Boxing appearances, that was the most action Danis would see for years, until he decided to attend UFC 322 on Nov. 15. Once again, Danis messed with the wrong people. According to Islam Makhachev teammate Magomed Zaynukov, Danis incited the rage of the Dagestani clan with a series of inappropriate social media posts. That led to a melee at Madison Square Garden, and by most accounts, it appeared Danis got the worst of it, though no one was seriously injured. That he had the gall to even show up at the venue was a surprise to Zaynukov.
“I didn’t know him at all,” Zaynukov said in an interview with Ushatayka. “I didn’t even know that he would be in the arena. I didn’t think he’d have the courage to come here like this. Maybe he didn’t have enough attention and wanted some hype. For some people, it’s probably just hype, but it’s not for us. It’s not hype. We seem to have different principles. He wrote about Islam, about Khabib. This is my team, these are my brothers, and I am always with them.”
As a result of the incident, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Danis will be banned from attending future UFC events, which was about as close as he was ever going to get to the Octagon. “It never even crossed my mind as stupid as this could be that the entire Muslim brotherhood was here tonight in the first five rows for Islam [Makhachev],” White said after UFC 322. “As soon as it broke out, I was over on the other side and I go ‘F---, I know exactly what that is.’ I knew it.” White, too, has seen this movie before.
Perhaps, though, the joke is on all of us. Even with a limited number of combat sports appearances on his resume since he arrived on the scene as a person of note—largely thanks to his association with McGregor—Danis still remains a topic of conversation. He has gotten an influencer boxing promotion to create an MMA belt just for him, and he seems to be doing just fine financially. If it takes getting roughed up in a few melees to keep the Danis brand alive, then so be it.
Continue Reading » Checkered Past, Present and Future