KSI regrets getting into business with Dillon Danis.
YouTube star Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, better known by fans and KSI, was scheduled to face perennial sh*t-talker Dillon Danis in a crossover boxing match at Wembley Arena in London this Saturday. 10 days before the bout was to go down, Danis pulled out of the contest. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, KSI revealed his initial reaction when told that Danis was backing out of the bout.
“I did hear whispers, especially on Twitter and a few comments here and there, being like, ‘He’s not going to show up. He’s not going to show up. He’s not going to show up. He’s not going to fight. He’s not going to fight,’” KSI said on ‘The MMA Hour‘ Monday. “But I was just like, ‘No, man, especially with the amount of money that he was going to be getting.’ I was like, ‘There’s no way he’s just going to pull out, especially with everything he said. … There’s no way he can come with this much smoke and then pull out.’ And then he did” (h/t MMA Junkie).
.@KSI explains why he chose Dillon Danis as an opponent over Tyron Woodley 👀 #TheMMAHour
"I’m going to get more entertainment from Danis because he’s just wild and he’s just weird and stupid. He gravitates eyes towards him."
▶️ https://t.co/EsrJ6QlcGW pic.twitter.com/qTs0v1rY0t
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) January 9, 2023
KSI Reveals He Was Originally Planning to Face Tyron Woodley
As it turns out, KSI was originally scheduled to face former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley but opted to go with Danis in hopes that the event would sell more tickets. Stepping in on short notice is FaZe Temperrr, another online personality who steps inside the squared circle from time to time.
“I was going to be fighting (Tyron) Woodley and Danis was going to fight Logan Paul,” KSI said. “And then, yeah, Logan Paul got injured. The budget got shorter of DAZN, and then we were like, ‘Oh, OK.’
“Tyron Woodley was having a little back-and-forth with the rehydration clause and the weight, so we were just like, ‘Well, we got Danis here, who’s free and is hungry and has been telling us he wants to fight.’ He was telling our manager, ‘I want to fight. I want to fight.’ So I was like, ‘OK, bet.’ Dillon Danis wants it. He’s hungry for it, and he’s going to be entertaining.
“I know between Danis and Tyron Woodley I’m going to get more entertainment from Danis because he’s just wild-and-weird stupid. He gravitates eyes towards it and makes it a big spectacle. Also, to get the MMA community into watching it. It was kind of a smart play. And I know I would just knock him out anyway.”
Asked if he would entertain the idea of rebooking the showdown with Dillon Danis in the future, KSI delivered an emphatic response.
“No, it’s done,” KSI said. “F*ck him. F*ck Dillon. I hope everyone forgets about him, and he disappears into irrelevancy.”
