UFC Legend Backs "Savior" Dillon Danis To Beat Logan Paul
Current ONE Championship titleholder and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson will be cheering for Dillon Danis when he enters the boxing ring to face Logan Paul.
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“El Jefe” is scheduled to make his boxing debut against Paul on October 14, following a successful grappling career and two-fight undefeated run as a mixed martial artist in Bellator.
Danis has been scheduled to compete several times in the last few years but has garnered a reputation for pulling out of matchups, and recent pre-fight comments as well as his incessant trolling of Paul’s fiancée Nina Agdal have helped spur rumors that the 30-year-old has no intention of stepping into the ring in Manchester, England.
One person that is hoping to see Danis making his boxing debut is Johnson, and in a recent video on his YouTube channel the former UFC champion detailed why he’s excited to see him enter the ring with Paul:
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Johnson is one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in MMA.
(Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports)
“We’re so invested, because Dillon is one of me,” Johnson explained. “He is a mixed martial artist, he comes from that background...Logan Paul, he is an entertainer. He’s an amazing wrestler. I love watching him do WWE, and he’s also transitioned into that YouTube boxing. But at the end of the day, I am rooting for Dillon Danis, just because he comes from the same lineage of Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts and I always wanna see the MMA guys succeed in making a lot of money.”
Danis is likely set for a significant payday if he does show up to meet Paul in Manchester, but the Bellator veteran also hasn't competed in more than four years and is currently a sizeable underdog heading into his boxing debut.
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A fair counter to Danis’ recent inactivity is the fact that Logan is far less experienced than his brother Jake when it comes to boxing, and Johnson feels that “El Jefe” has a chance to make up for the lack of success that other MMA fighters have had against the Paul brothers thus far:
Logan's brother Jake has largely built his boxing career by beating former MMA fighters.
(Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports)
“I think the reason why [I’m rooting for Danis] is the Paul brothers have come into the sport of boxing, knocking out Tyron Woodley, knocking out Ben Askren…But I feel like maybe [Danis] is the guy from our sport who can come in and get a victory for mixed martial arts. Because every single person that the Paul brothers have fought from mixed martial arts, they have defeated them. Lo and behold our savior, Dillon Danis. Will he be the savior of the mixed martial artists? We’ll find out on October 14.”
Danis briefly sent fans into a frenzy less than two weeks before the Paul matchup when he sent out a cryptic message that implied he was frustrated by the buildup to the fight and might withdraw from the event altogether.
UFC veteran and current BKFC star Mike Perry added further fuel to the fire when he followed Danis’ post with a video claiming he’d be stepping in to fight Paul as the backup, but “El Jefe” quickly dismissed the suggestion that he was pulling out and still appears set to make his boxing debut against Paul on October 14.
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