Say what you will about Dillon Danis, but only a fool would call this black belt “timid.”
The grappling coach of UFC star Conor McGregor made headlines in the jiu-jitsu world last month when he was “indefinitely” suspended from Marcelo Garcia’s academy, but from the looks of it, he has no intentions of letting that stop his climb to the top. At the beginning of the month, he won gold at the Atlanta Open, and this weekend, he’ll be facing former Strikeforce champion and Renzo Gracie team member Jake Shields at the main event of Submission Underground IV.
While fans seem to be divided on who they think will come out on top, Danis is (in typical fashion) completely confident about his chances.
“I think he’s past his prime, not athletic — he’s just old,” he said of Shields, who at thirty-eight is fifteen years older than Danis. “The only thing he’s good at is stalling; he even stalled his opponent on Bully Beatdown.”
If Danis’ words about his opponent seem less than flattering, there’s a reason for it: these two grapplers developed a bit of bad blood between them when Conor McGregor faced Shields’ friend Nate Diaz. After an argument in which Shields dumped his coffee on Danis, it was clear that these two weren’t going to be each other’s best friends any time soon. Even though Danis says that “it’s all about the respect” after a match or a fight, he stands firm on his position that his beef with Shields is “forever.”
Shields wouldn’t be the first opponent that Danis has done some verbal sparring with — he and AJ Agazarm are known for not being each other’s biggest fans, and their dislike for each other only intensified after Danis defeated him earlier this year at Submission Underground III by getting the fastest escape in overtime. The two came face-to-face again in the finals at the Atlanta Open, with Danis once again coming out on top.
While Danis acknowledges that Shields’ experience, “especially in the cage”, could prove to be a challenge, it’s not one that he’s particularly worried about. “I have trained my ass off since I was fifteen to be comfortable in any situation, so I will be more than ready!” he says.
“The fact is whether we are talking about Jake or any other guy, no one is on my level.”
Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, we shouldn’t expect Danis to be disappearing from the spotlight any time soon. He teased that he has some big announcements coming up that will “break more big numbers,” and with all the attention and success he’s continued to find, it wouldn’t be unwise to believe him. “I’m going to bring jiu-jitsu to the next level,” he says.
Whether you love him or hate him, there’s no arguing that Dillon Danis can back up all his trash talk and antics with some seriously solid jiu-jitsu. Make no mistake — if Jake Shields wants to put his opponent in his place, he’s not going to have an easy time doing it. If you disagree, or if you’re tired of hearing Danis’ name, or if you just can’t stand the guy, the hopeful SUG IV champion has the same message for you that he sends out to all his haters: “F*** ‘em all.”
Submission Underground 4 is presented and will be live streamed internationally by FloGrappling.com.
