Dillon Danis a decorated jiu-jitsu savant who serves as Conor McGregor’s grappling coach and training partner made a successful professional MMA debut at Bellator 198 on Saturday, April 28 from inside Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Danis defeated Kyle Walker, getting the finish in the very first round of their catchweight 175 lb contest.
Danis, a southpaw, missed the opportunity of early takedown attempt but then he needed few seconds to take the fight to the ground, where Brazilian jiu jitsu expert instantly pulled guard and immediately began threatening with submissions. Danis deftly transitioned from a kneebar to a toehold and Walker frantically tapped before the referee stepped to waved off the action.
After the fight, Walker dropped to 2-4 in MMA, while Danis becomes a 1-0 fighter.
Danis training partner and famous UFC star Conor Mcgregor immediately congratulated him on the win.
Danis is unsure of his plans for a next fight, instead of taking on any Bellator fighter, he took aim at former Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. (Quotes via BloodyElbow)
“All the bums on the rest of the card are going to call me out now,” Danis said after winning his first fight. “I came here to die. That motherf—ker had to kill me. I can give you a whole seminar on how to defeat MMA with jiu-jitsu.
“I’m the one who made this card. Second biggest card in the company,” he said, before calling out his next opponent. “I was thinking, maybe, Ben Askren. We’ll see.”
Unfortunately for Dillion, Bellator’s president Scott Coker sounds off on signing Askren, who had an online sparred with Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald for the potential matchup earlier this month:
“Ben, I don’t really think wants to fight,” Coker said to MMA Junkie after Bellator 198 on Saturday night (April 28, 2018). “I think he wants to fight one more fight and be done with it. That’s what I understand.”
Former Bellator champ Askren didn’t waste any time and swiftly responded to Danis and said, he probably needs to bested a fighter with winning record first.
He realizes this isn’t reality so he feels safe doing so. Maybe he should fight someone with a winning record first https://t.co/X2dGlYTVyI
— Funky (@Benaskren) April 29, 2018
