Scott Coker reacts to “pretty funny” cancellation of Dillon Danis vs. KSI: “I was really surprised”

By Josh Evanoff - January 11, 2023

Bellator president Scott Coker was surprised to see Dillon Danis pull out of his boxing match with KSI.

Dillon Danis, Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal

‘El Jefe’ is an interesting figure in the combat sports community. A former training partner of Conor McGregor and Jiu-Jitsu coach, Danis signed with Bellator in 2017 to begin his MMA career. The subsequent year, he defeated Kyle Walker by first-round submission.

In 2019, the grappling expert defeated Max Humphrey by first-round submission at Bellator 222. While his first two victories were dominant and promising, Danis is yet to compete in the cage since then. Instead, he’s targeted a move to the boxing ring.

Dillon Danis was slated to face YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI later this month on DAZN pay-per-view. ‘The Nightmare’ famously made his return in August, knocking out two opponents in one night. While the YouTuber intended to make Danis yet another victim, the fight will not happen.

Earlier this month, Danis withdrew from the fight, with claims that he was unprepared. On The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Bellator president Scott Coker laughed when asked about the boxing match. He continued to explain that he was surprised it was canceled and that Danis has already requested to fight under his promotion.

Scott-Coker

“You know, I tell you, that’s actually pretty funny,” stated Scott Coker when asked about Dillon Danis’s return on The MMA Hour alongside Ariel Helwani. “They offered him to fight in London on the show coming up, and I guess they accepted and made a deal. We basically said ‘Okay’, so when this thing fell apart I was very surprised. He’s reached out to me saying that he wants a fight, so we’ll try to get him in the rotation.”

He continued, “But, it’s been a long time, a long time since he’s fought. I hope he’s been training and doing his thing. But at the end of the day it’ll be up to him, and how bad he wants to fight, and does he really want to compete at this level. It’s only something that he could answer.”

“I’ll tell you, we have a contract with the guy, and we’ll honor the contract. It’s going to be if he really wants to fight, that’s the question for me… Let’s see what happens. To be determined [if he will fight in Bellator again].”

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Danis fight again? Sound off in the comment section below PENN Nation!


Topics:

Bellator Dillon Danis KSI Scott Coker