UFC 322 will go down in history thanks to the brilliant victory of Islam Makhachev, as a result of which he became the first Russian champion in two weight categories. But the fight was overshadowed by the disgusting act of American Dillon Danis, who provoked a mass brawl with the connivance of promotion head Dana White.

Dirty provocateur

Denis has been a consistent critic of Russian mixed martial arts fighters for almost a decade. Moreover, the American often resorts to insults on racial and religious grounds, because of which he has repeatedly had problems.

In 2018, Dillon received what he deserved from Khabib Nurmagomedov right after the fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 229. The famous Russian lightweight punished the provocateur for insulting shouts during the fight. After this, a massive brawl began, which resulted in a 12-month suspension for Habib Abubakar’s cousin. For a long time they did not give battle to Islam.

After that, Denis repeatedly behaved like a pig, making inappropriate comments about our fighters. But the American had public conflicts not only with the Russians. In 2021, he was detained by the police for a fight with a security guard at a grill bar. The fighter also resisted law enforcement officers.

In 2023, he has cemented his reputation as a man on whom there is no place to put a mark. At the UFC 268 tournament, Denis quarreled with manager Ali Abdel-Aziz, who manages the affairs of many famous fighters, for example, Khabib Nurmagomedov. As a result of the conflict, Dillon was hit in the face.

Dillon Denis / Photo: © Christian Petersen / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

“I blame myself for this”

Denis decided to honor the UFC 322 tournament with his presence. Naturally, nothing good came of it. For some reason, the fighter went to the places where Makhachev’s support team had gathered, and not to those for which he had purchased tickets. Among those present there were fighters Magomed Zainukov and an old acquaintance of the American, Abubakar Nurmagomedov.

Literally after a few seconds of this proximity, a massive fight broke out, which for a long time even numerous security guards of the UFC and the Madison Square Garden arena could not stop. Passions were running so high that the spectators’ chairs were flying in different directions.

When the fighters were finally separated, Denis was taken out of the arena. Zainukov and Nurmagomedov, as well as other participants in the conflict, were asked to leave the tournament. Members of Makhachev’s team watched their friend’s brilliant victory from their hotel room.

The 2018 mass brawl greatly angered UFC head Dana White, who severely punished the participants in the brawl with lengthy disqualifications. This time, the promotion boss took the blame for the conflict upon himself. He was aware that Dillon was moving towards Makhachev’s team, but decided not to do anything.

Dillon Denis / Photo: © Christian Petersen / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

– Actually, I blame myself for this. It didn’t even occur to me, as stupid as it may sound, that all the Muslims were gathered here tonight, in the first five rows. You will never see Dillon Danis fight in the UFC again. You will never see him in another fight again. I could have prevented this tonight, but I screwed up,” White said at the post-tournament press conference.

The promotion boss also said that he decided not to press charges against him. Dana believed that the American’s act should remain exclusively in fighting circles.

Watch live broadcasts of UFC tournaments on the Match TV and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.