Polarizing athlete Dillon Danis claimed his former boxing rival, Logan Paul, barred the UFC from signing him.
The bad blood between Dillon Danis and Logan Paul will likely never simmer down almost two full years after their boxing match. According to Danis, Paul was the biggest obstacle to a potential UFC signing.
Danis, who hasn’t fought in MMA since submitting Max Humphrey at Bellator 222, will return to the cage in Global Fight League against former UFC titleholder Tony Ferguson. Danis and Ferguson will clash in a lightweight bout rumored to take place in May in Los Angeles.
Before signing with the GFL, Danis repeatedly called for the UFC matchmakers to bring him aboard. But the matchmakers, and more specifically UFC CBO Hunter Campbell, shut down Danis’s desires.
Danis believes his former rival is to blame for a UFC deal not coming to fruition.
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Dillon Danis accuses Logan Paul of barring UFC from signing him
In a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Danis claimed that Paul persuaded the UFC not to sign him in free agency.
“He hates me now. And he’s in the background with the UFC, I’m pretty sure, he’s the one talking to the UFC,” Danis said of Paul. “He won’t let me go to WWE events, WWE wanted to do stuff with me, and he [shut it down]. He hates me so much that he’s trying to get me out of everything; that’s how much he hates me.
“I don’t know if he’s talking to them directly, but he’s definitely in their ear and PRIME…maybe he can say ‘If you sign that kid, I’m pulling PRIME.”
As of this writing, neither Paul nor the UFC has responded to Danis’s accusations. Danis will face KSI in a boxing match later this month.
The buildup to Paul vs. Danis in their 2023 grudge match was hostile, featuring lawsuits and press conference brawls. Paul went on to defeat Danis by disqualification after Danis attempted to grapple Paul in the boxing ring.
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Logan Paul briefly linked to a boxing match with Dillon Danis’s superstar teammate
Paul was in talks to face Danis’s longtime teammate, Conor McGregor, in a boxing match before negotiations fell apart. According to the Pauls, UFC CEO Dana White shut down the rumored $500 million bout as McGregor also plots his MMA return.
The Pauls and McGregor shared a viral encounter at the U.S. Presidential Inauguration earlier this year. While things were mostly cordial, McGregor belittled a fight with either Paul brother as a ‘side job’.
As of this writing, Paul’s targeted return to the ring remains in the works for later this year. The WWE star hasn’t boxed since the Danis fight. McGregor hasn’t fought in the Octagon since a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
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