Dana White has insisted that Dillon Danis will not be allowed back at a UFC event after the controversial fighter became embroiled in a wild ringside melee at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Footage circulating online showed Danis in a tense exchange with members of Islam Makhachev’s team moments before the situation erupted into violence.
Several members of the lightweight champion’s entourage - including UFC competitor Magomed Zaynukov - were seen throwing punches in Danis’ direction as the brawl spilled across the front rows.
The altercation unfolded only inches from the family section, with Jack Della Maddalena’s wife Michelle and his mother Sonya caught in the chaos.
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One clip appeared to show Zaynukov landing multiple heavy shots to the side of Danis’ head while the fighter attempted to calm a separate scuffle unfolding beside him.
Security staff and police rushed in but struggled to gain control as groups from both sides surged toward one another, creating a frantic and dangerous scene lasting several minutes.
Eventually, Danis and several members of Makhachev’s camp were escorted away from cageside and taken backstage as order was restored.
Dana White has insisted that Dillon Danis will not be allowed back at a UFC event after the controversial fighter became embroiled in a wild ringside melee at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night
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White addressed the incident at the post-event press conference and made it clear that Danis’ presence at future UFC shows will not be tolerated.
“You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again,” White said. “That and a lot of other reasons [are why we’d never sign him]. You’ll never see him at another fight.”
Although the UFC chose not to pursue charges, White admitted he was frustrated with himself for overlooking the potential for trouble.
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Dillon Danis was involved in a huge brawl at Madison Square Garden
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“So they call me from downstairs and they said, ‘We got him down here, do you want to press charges and have him arrested?’ And I said, ‘No, we don’t want to press charges. This is the fight business, man. You know how I feel about this,’” he explained.
“I could have prevented this tonight. It never even crossed my mind, as stupid as that could be, that the entire Muslim brotherhood was here tonight in the first five rows for Islam (Makhachev).
"I blame myself for that, actually.”
White revealed that staff informed him shortly before the main card that Danis had entered the arena and was moving between seats rather than staying in the location linked to his ticket.
He continued: “They came back and told me right before I walked out for the main card that Dillon Danis was here and he was moving around, sitting in fighters’ seats and not sitting in his own seat that he had.
"He had a ticket. And they said, ‘Do you want us to throw him out of here?’ and I said, ‘He has a ticket?’ and they said, ‘Yeah.’”
Dillon Dannis and Conor McGregor have known each other for years
|White added that security warned him Jorge Masvidal had threatened to “f**k him up on sight,” but he decided not to remove Danis: “If the guy has a ticket, let him sit in his seat.
"Let him do what he’s doing, but keep an eye on him.”
The tensions between Danis and Makhachev’s circle stretch back years, most notably to the chaotic post-fight scenes following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s win over Conor McGregor in 2018.
Danis, who was in McGregor’s corner that night, was embroiled in the infamous melee and has often accused Makhachev of jumping him during the fracas.
Last month, Danis reiterated his version of those events, saying Makhachev “punched me in the head seven times.”
Speaking on the MightyCast podcast, he recalled: “He jumped in such a weird way where he jumped with his feet and hands. It was like the weirdest thing. So I didn’t know what to block, he had his feet in the air and his hands up.
“I was like, am I getting drop-kicked right now? I should have just run forward and tackled him… Then fing security is holding me and Islam punched me in the back of the head… They were saying s to me and Islam was saying s*** to me.”