Dillon Danis claims he is 100 per cent going to make his mixed martial arts debut in 2017.
The Marcelo Garcia Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt is one of the most dominant in the world when it comes to grappling but, having spent much of 2016 with the likes of Conor McGregor and Artem Lobov, he wants to test the waters with MMA.
Danis was drafted in by ‘The Notorious’ to prepare for his rematch with Nate Diaz as McGregor looked to rally from his first UFC defeat, which came via submission in the main event of UFC 196.
The Irishman would have been hard pressed to select a better grappler than Danis with whom to work his ground game ahead of the sequel at UFC 202 and it clearly paid dividends as he avoided any attempts from Diaz to drag the bout to the mat and claimed a majority decision over his Stockton rival.
Conor McGregor battles through thick, thin and exhaustion to avenge his first UFC defeat https://t.co/pmWjiDNjQw
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 21, 2016
And Danis seems to have caught the bug while training at Straight Blast Gym in Dublin as he has insisted that he’s ready to wrap his hands and take the plunge into MMA.
“I honestly think I could have my first fight in the UFC and I think I would dominate,” Danis said during an interview on the MMA Hour.
“I say that being 100 per cent fact. I’m not a stupid person. I know what I’m capable of and I know who I’ve trained with. I know what I’ve seen and I know that no one could rock me or try to beat me.
“I always say I could go straight into the UFC but it doesn’t matter, I’m going to get there anyway.”
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By way of opponent, Danis toyed with the notion of fighting Nate Diaz in his first Octagon outing but that came after he’d dropped the name of the polarising figure that is Sage Northcutt, who faces CM Punk-slayer Mickey Gall at UFC on Fox 22 next week.
“Maybe Sage Northcutt,” Danis said. “That would be an easy fight just to get out of the way and beat someone that has a decent name.
“I’m pretty close to Mickey Gall. That could happen. I like Mickey Gall though and I would rather fight Sage but obviously there’s no friends in this business so if it came down to it I would have to.
“Or maybe we could set up that Nate Diaz fight. He was the one who wanted it. I haven’t heard anything… I always respected Nate. I think Nate’s an awesome fighter but when he called me out, then that’s when we have a problem but I haven’t heard anything from him about fighting.
“Obviously I respect Nate. I think he and his brother are awesome but he started this and he called me out so if he wants to fight me in the UFC, make it happen!”
Danis, at just 23, has time on his side when it comes to honing his striking technique and he’s aligning himself with the right people as it could be argued that McGregor is one of the most technically sound kickboxers in the UFC.
But the New Jersey-born Danis is eager to get his feet wet and revealed that he’s already been offered a fight in early 2017 under the Cage Fury Fighting Championships banner.
“There’s a fight in February that I’ve been offered but it’s the same day as a Jiu Jitsu tournament and right now I’m in the dilemma of thinking do I take the fight or take the Jiu Jitsu tournament,” Danis said.
“I’ll have to make my mind up soon but I feel like it would be soon. After being at that fight (UFC 205 main event) it motivated me to think this is what I have to do.
“Obviously I love Jiu Jitsu, I love the gi, I love competing in Jiu Jitsu and I love everything about Jiu Jitsu. It is a hard choice for me but make no mistake about it, if I go to MMA then I’m going to dominate and I will win the belt.”
Danis juggles his training time between New York and Dublin but he would be eager to represent the SBG brand if the gym’s head coach, John Kavanagh, gives the green light.
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“I would have to talk to Conor and John about that but I would imagine that I would go there for a month or two or even live there,” Danis continued.
“I’m really close with John Kavanagh too so whatever my decision is, I would talk to him about it. He’s one of my mentors and Conor’s one of my mentors so I would talk to them first and then we would make a decision and figure it out.
“I have great teammates here that brought me to where I am. I have a lot of great things in my life so if I do make the choice then I’m going to have a lot of people behind me.”
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