Dillon Danis has a theory on why his MMA moves didn’t work against Logan Paul.
The mixed martial artist, who is known for his submission skills, tried to take Paul to the floor on multiple occasions during the final round of their boxing bout in Manchester on the misfits undercard.
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Conor McGregor’s teammate initially shot for a double leg takedown before trying to emulate Nate Diaz who put Jake Paul in a guillotine choke during their fight in August.
However, Danis was unable to get a grasp of the YouTuber-turned-boxer and fell to the floor before being disqualified from the fight when his actions led to a mass brawl in the ring.
Following his defeat, the 30-year-old visited London to speak with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan about his disappointing debut in a new sport.
“It didn’t feel like a fight,” Danis said.
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“Every time I tried to trade with him and engage, he would run away.”
As for his MMA move attempts, Danis insisted he only did them as a joke before pointing out the reason they failed was because Paul had covered himself in petroleum jelly.
He added: “I wasn’t actually trying to [submit him] but he was smart, he Vaselined his head up because he knew I was trying to go for his neck.
“At that moment, I wasn’t. I was just grabbing his head and he kind of just shrugged me and the Vaseline [meant I fell to the ground]. Then he threw that punch and I upkicked him.”
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Danis is hoping he’ll get the chance to rematch Paul in the Octagon.
The New Yorker was a 2-0 MMA fighter before suffering a gruesome knee injury that had kept him sidelined since 2019.
"I was just messing around a little bit to let him know what a real fight is,” Danis concluded.
“Boxing is not a real fight, it's half a fight. I wanna fight him in a real fight, he shook my hand and said he was going to fight me in MMA rules."
Paul has shown no interest in running it back with Danis.
During his post-fight interview, the 28-year-old suggested he would return to the WWE to face professional wrestling legend Rey Mysterio and also expressed an interest in boxing McGregor.
It seems Danis will need to look for an alternative opponent for his MMA return.
For the full interview watch Piers Morgan Uncensored on TalkTV at 8pm on 17 October or on YouTube or the TalkTV app