Training partner and jujitsu coach to Conor McGregor, Dillon Danis has announced he has undergone extensive knee surgery and will be side-lined indefinitely.
The Bellator prospect and jiu jitsu black belt is 2-0 in MMA. Both wins have come inside the first round via submission. He last fought in June 2019 and now faces an extended period on the out of action.
Danis announced on Saturday that he has had a seven-hour surgery in order to “reconstruct” his knee. Posting on Twitter the 26-year-old acknowledged he is enduring the toughest period of is career but vowed to return better than ever, he said.
“This has been one of the toughest tests of my career, but i’m fully committed to take it head on and come back stronger than ever,” he said. “You can break my body but never my spirit!”
Danis was scheduled to fight in a 175-pound main-card catchweight bout against Keegan Gennrich on Jan 25 at Bellator 238. Just one week out the SBG fighter announced his withdrawal from the card citing an injury to his knee which was sustained whilst helping McGregor prepare for his comeback fight against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone’ at UFC 246 on Jan 18.
During
fight-week at UFC 246 Danis was seen on crutches with his right knee wrapped up.
He told ESPN at the time he had undergone surgery to repair injuries relating
to his LCL and meniscus.
Bellator reacted to the news when MMA Junkie reached out for comment they released the following statement in which they wish Danis well in his recovery, it read .
“We’ll
be in touch with Dillon and his management team in the coming weeks to discuss
a potential timeline for his return. In the meantime, we wish him a full and
speedy recovery.”
Danis has earned himself a reputation among the MMA community far beyond his experience in the cage. The loudmouth youngster infamously incited the post-fight brawl at UFC 229 which saw Khabib Nurmagomedov scale the cage and attack Danis in the crowd.