Dana White lukewarm on signing Dillon Danis to UFC deal, not a fan of outside-the-cage antics

While Dana White didn't entirely dismiss the possibility of Dillon Danis fighting in the UFC, he also wasn't too enthused about it.

UFC CEO Dana White apparently isn’t a fan of Dillon Danis’ antics.

White was asked about the possibility of Danis, who’s currently a free agent, joining the UFC. Danis, who hasn’t competed in MMA since June 2019, has openly said he would like the UFC to sign him to a deal.

While White didn’t entirely dismiss the possibility, he also wasn’t too enthused about it.

“I don’t know. Do you think he should be?” White said on a recent episode of the “Full Send Podcast.” I heard he just retired.”

White’s issue with Danis is the controversy he tends to stir. Danis was at the center of the infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl following the main event between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018. After Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor, he jumped the fence to attack Danis, who was in McGregor’s corner, sparking chaos in and around the cage. Nurmagomedov was not happy with some of Danis’ words in the lead-up to the fight.

“The other thing with him is, and I have no beef with the kid at all – I’ve probably said two words to him in my whole life. But every time he’s around, sh*t’s going down,” White said. “We can’t have that stuff going on here. A lot of people will see when guys get into it on stage, they’re like, ‘Oh, they must love this’ or whatever. No, we don’t love it.

“We don’t need that sh*t to sell fights. And basically what happens is when that goes down, the athletic commission goes crazy and people start getting fined and for us, it’s our job to keep that sh*t under control.. That’s why, when you see these other events and see these guys and everything breaks out like that, it’s a total, unprofessional clown show.”

White also referred to Danis’ heated rivalry with Logan Paul ahead of their boxing match last month. Danis went after Paul’s fiancé, Nina Agdal, who ended up filing a lawsuit against him for sharing photos without her consent. Danis lost the exhibition match to Paul by disqualification.

In MMA, Danis, who entered the sport with a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, is 2-0 in two appearances with Bellator. He defeated Kyle Walker in April 2018 and Max Humphrey in June 2019 – both by submission. A serious knee injury derailed his progress but still at 30, there seemingly would be time for Danis to get back on track if he focused on MMA.