Dillon Danis' MMA promoter Scott Coker has admitted that he will "have his hands full" when he faces KSI in the boxing ring next month.
The jiu-jitsu black belt has fought twice under Coker's Bellator MMA banner, winning both by stoppage within a round. However, he is much better known for his grappling than his boxing, and there is a belief that after a number of major fights and four years of intensive training that KSI will be the favourite in their clash.
Danis is under an exclusive contract with Bellator MMA, but hasn't fought for them since 2019 due to a string of injuries. However, he has been keen to move into influencer boxing for some time now, and Coker granted him permission to take on KSI in this special event next month.
"Dillon wants to go take this boxing fight," Coker told reporters after Bellator 289 last night. "I said 'good luck, you're going to have your hands full young man'. He's still under contract, but we've been trying to get him to fight for a long time and he saw an opportunity here with KSI, so I wish him luck, it's a good deal for him, I don't want to hold him back and be 'that' promoter, so we said 'yeah, go ahead, you guys can work it out' and we're going to just see what happens in that fight."
Coker had been hopeful that he could lure Danis back to the cage at some point in the next few months, after the fighter had told him he wanted to compete again. But the event with KSI in London came up, likely offering a massive payday, which would have been needed after two years out of action.
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He had been initially in talks to face Logan Paul, who was due to compete on the event, but he had to pull out after suffering a serious MCL injury in a WWE match last month. Paul and Danis have had a longer and more legitimate rivalry than he and KSI, but there is clearly bad blood between he and the Brit.
The pair went head-to-head in Austin, Texas last month at Misfits Boxing's third event, and both of their meetings ended with security getting involved. The first time at the pre-fight weigh-in, Danis poured coffee on and attempted to punch KSI, while the second time they engaged in a slightly tamer war of words.
