No one ever thought Dillon Danis had good boxing skills. However, everybody in the MMA community knows how good the internet troll is in BJJ. Danis has not competed in a long time, and Alexander Volkanovski‘s coach, Craig Jones, has an interesting theory on why this is the case.
Craig Jones recently sat down to talk with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour Studio. During their discussion, Jones discussed why Dillon Danis has essentially abandoned fighting to become an influencer. The esteemed BJJ practitioner revealed that low monetary benefits were the prime factor.
I think, potentially, like we lose athletes like that because there’s probably more money being an influencer than there is in the tournaments, you know? So it’s like, for him, having a good time, being an influencer, probably paid significantly more than his grappling and who knows, if a tournament existed earlier in his career, he might not have felt the need to not compete.
Craig Jones via The MMA Hour
Dillon Danis had previously announced his retirement last year on social media. After a successful career in grappling, MMA and an awkward boxing debut, the controversial star has walked away from fighting. He has won numerous IBJJF medals. However, Conor McGregor‘s training partner has not competed in BJJ since 2017.
The BJJ star made his boxing debut against Logan Paul last year at the AO Arena in Manchester. It was an exhibition match, and Danis faced a tough challenge against Paul. The fight ended via disqualification after Paul easily dominated Danis throughout the fight. Despite claiming to be retired, new opportunities seem to have found Danis recently.
Craig Jones wants Dillon Danis to fight at his tournament
So why is Craig Jones talking about Dillon Danis? The prominent BJJ figure has actually come up with the Craig Jones Invitational, a high-profile grappling event. Jones had a lengthy discussion with Ariel Helwani about his upcoming tournament. But why did Jones want Dillon Danis when he has not competed in a long time?
Dillon Danis has not competed in BJJ since 2017 (Image via Imago)During the interview on The MMA Hour, Jones talked about inviting Double D El Jefe. Despite being controversial, Danis’ BJJ performance remains well-appreciated by Jones. As such, he wants Danis to participate in the upcoming tournament.
It’d be cool to have Dillon. He did do good at ADCC against Gordon (Ryan). At brown belt he was really, really good. First year of black belt really good, and then he became really good at having a good time, which I respect as well.
Craig Jones via The MMA Hour
The Craig Jones Invitational features a unique ruleset, including three 5-minute rounds with traditional Jiu-Jitsu scoring, and involves judges’ decisions. The idea is to get top BJJ stars to compete for substantial prizes, which Jones teased as a $1 million prize pool.
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