“Conor don’t worry, you have better Jiu-Jitsu. You have better everything. Believe in yourself. Believe!”
A mere snippet of the passionate urgings from Dillon Danis as Conor McGregor neared the end of his five-round war with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.
The New Jersey native and Belfast boxer Conor Wallace were the two main additions to McGregor’s training camp ahead of his rematch with Diaz. Despite the fact that UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is stockier than Diaz, Danis has been retained.
The bond between McGregor and Danis appears to have grown over the past six months, with the Dubliner taking the 23-year-old under his wing.
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Danis is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt who trained with legendary coach Marcelo Garcia in New York. It was no surprise that he was recruited to improve McGregor’s ground game after the chastening manner in which he was submitted in his opening encounter with Diaz, at UFC 196.
Danis told Submission Radio how McGregor went hard at him from the get-go in his training camp and never let up. When Danis threw it right back, the respect between the pair grew.
The American was certainly the most emotional from the three men in McGregor’s corner at UFC 202 [the others being John Kavanagh and Owen Roddy]. When the going got tough, as it so often did, Danis was the one telling McGregor, “You’ve got more heart.”
It certainly seemed the case as The Notorious got his vengeance.
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Danis’ invocations definitely got the attention of Diaz, who called him out on the same night as he lost to McGregor. In reply, Danis told The MMA Hour:
“I don’t know what that means, I’m on his hit list, but if he wants to do MMA, I’ll fight him in MMA if he wants. He can do a CM Punk with me and bring me into the UFC. He can be my first fight. I’ll fight him in a couple months, whatever he wants to do.”
Danis remains open to the idea of entering the mixed martial arts world but is keeping his fight game honed in BJJ. He was straight back at it when he got the clarion call from McGregor but the pair still found time to let off steam.
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McGregor has taken a keen interest in Danis’ career and is helping to improve his stand-up game in anticipation of a possible entry into professional MMA.
In the latest interview with both men, it is interesting to hear their take on each other as fighters:
Danis: “As I always say, ‘He’s an animal’. People underestimate his ground game but he’s going to show how good he is on the ground.”
McGregor: “This is a different side to the game than he is used to. We’ve been in here, we’ve been fighting and we haven’t been slacking off. We’ve been putting him in uncomfortable situations… Not many of them adjust to a full fight.”
“He’s only 23, but he’s a big boy,” he added. “The boy’s an animal. When he switches on he switches on. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on. If he wants to do MMA, I’m more than happy to guide him.”
The respect is mutual.
In Charlie Ward, we have already seen one member of ‘Team McGregor’ get his shot in the UFC.
Don’t be surprised if Danis follows in the near future and we see McGregor return the cornerman favour.
*Main image via Dillon Danis’ Instagram
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