Dillon Danis insists he didn’t make anti-Islam comments to Khabib Nurmagomedov before UFC 229 brawl

Shortly after Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 last Saturday night, a frenzied brawl between the pair’s teams began. Nurmagomedov leapt out of the cage and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, while McGregor scrapped with several of Nurmagomedov’s compatriots inside the cage. It was pure chaos, and the MMA community has been struggling to assign the blame ever since.

Apparently, some fans have been blaming Dillon Danis for starting this riot, suggesting that he was making negative comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s faith through the cage before the bedlam began. Danis is not happy about these accusations, and insists they’re nothing but a smear campaign.

“Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fans are attempting to smear me in an effort to justify his actions,” Dillon Danis wrote on his Instagram Story on Wednesday. “I have never and would never denigrate anyone’s religion. I look forward to the results of the Nevada State Athletic Commission investigation which will reject this bullshit claim and put the blame where it belongs.”

Clearly, Danis feels the blame for this riot rests squarely on the shoulders of Nurmagomedov. As he implies, the punishments dished out for this wild scene will be handed down by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor have both already been handed 10-day suspensions as a tentative measure, and are expected to get much longer suspensions, as well as hefty fines, once the commission has had an opportunity to thoroughly examine the incident. Given the wealth of video footage available of the incident, and the countless witnesses on scene, hopefully they’re able to get a clear picture of how this madness actually began.

Who do you think is responsible for UFC 229’s post-fight riot?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/10/2018.