McGregor got some training in with his old jiu jitsu coach Dillon Danis while in New York City.
Conor McGregor continues to train for his eventual comeback fight in the UFC, despite nobody seeming to know when it will go down. And he picked a pretty appropriate sparring partner given his current circumstances.
Dillon Danis hasn’t competed professionally since a knee injury sidelined him in 2019. He was supposed to box KSI in January 2023, but the fight fell apart with just two weeks to go under extremely shady circumstances. Pretty much everyone turned their back on Danis … but not Conor McGregor, who shared photos of the two training together in New York City.
“Good sparring today at Church Street with Dillon Danis,” McGregor wrote on Twitter.. “NYC Underground Kings, word to Eddie [Alvarez]. You think you know. You have no idea. Onwards we go! #smile #check #soon.”
Good sparring today at Church Street with @dillondanis. NYC Underground Kings, word to Eddie. You think you know. You have no idea. Onwards we go! #smile #check #soon pic.twitter.com/ilHemUEnVY
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 21, 2023
This all comes at a strange time for McGregor. He’s got a new Netflix documentary out and a new season of The Ultimate Fighter currently airing. He’s also got a highly publicized rape allegation being levied against him, and he has seemingly missed a deadline to re-enter a drug testing program in time to compete by the end of 2023. A lot of people are starting to write him off as well, and you can read some defiance in his social media message.
Danis and McGregor teamed up in 2016 when Conor needed a jiu jitsu teacher to prepare him for Nate Diaz. Danis helped McGregor out with his ground game (sort of), and in return McGregor taught Danis how to become a lightning rod of controversy. Dillon was on his way to being a very successful MMA heel before his knee completely disintegrated. After that, the act got old fast.
Despite years of nothing but bad press, McGregor stuck by Danis.
“Dillon is a good friend of mine,” he said on The MMA Hour shortly after the KSI fight fell apart. “You do go at him a bit heavy, he had an injury. He’s only a young lad. He’s good for the game, he’s good for the game. I hope he can come back as well.”
As of right now, there’s no hint of when Dillion Danis might fight again, and the same goes for Conor McGregor. The UFC could grant “The Notorious” an exemption from spending six months in the USADA drug testing pool, opening him back up to a fight against fellow TUF coach Michael Chandler later this year. But with all the bad press currently surrounding Conor, does the UFC even really want to bend the rules to book him into a high profile fight right now?