Despite a tense affair the last time Ariel Helwani interviewed him on the MMA Hour, Dillon Danis returned to the studio to discuss his upcoming boxing match with Logan Paul on October 14 in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Sharing some good news, Danis confirmed that he recently had a son, becoming a father for the first time. Danis was cagey when asked about the child’s mother, revealing they are still undecided on what to call his one-month-old boy. She wants to keep her private life just that – private.
Danis showed a different side to him, albeit briefly, during the interview with Helwani than the persona we have become accustomed to lately with the relentless trolling on social media, which has resulted in Paul’s partner filing a lawsuit against Danis, something which he has criticized his opponent for. Danis said that his actions have helped to promote the fight, a bout which Paul has revealed Danis is receiving a flat fee for, and not a share of the pay-per-view revenue.
Helwani asked Danis for something that he would change about himself. Rather than commenting on a personality trait, Danis mentioned that he wishes he could go back in time and not get injured – Danis has torn ligaments on two occasions over the past couple of years, resulting in lengthy spells on the sidelines. Not being able to do what he does best – fighting – took a severe toll on Danis’ mental health.
”It [the injuries] keeps me up at night. I went through a bad time. You think I didn’t want to fight? You think I didn’t want to prove everybody wrong? You think I didn’t want to go and win world championships? It f***in’ drives me crazy, it drives me crazy. It keeps me up at night, still, to this day” said Danis.
Originally declining the offer to explain further, Danis didn’t wish to discuss it in any more depth. Credit is due to Helwani here as he continued to ask probing questions in a way that didn’t seem too intrusive, and his guest obliged. Danis revealed that he spent a lot of time drinking excessively, to the point where he wasn’t sure if he would continue living much longer. Helwani asked if Danis had ever contemplated taking his own life, which Danis didn’t wish to disclose. He did, however, elaborate on his mindset in recent times.
”Dude, you go from training and being so good to sitting there in a cast, can’t move, don’t know if you’re ever going to be the same. It was hard; I didn’t realize growing up that Jiu-Jitsu was like my zen, you know? Like, when I go training, I feel great after. So then you’re sitting in your bed, have nothing to do [due to being injured], and you get into a dark place and start drinking, doing bad things. I used to just drink all day.”
In terms of fight preparation, much has been made of footage circulating on social media of Danis sparring with the former UFC middleweight champion, Alex Pereira, in which he appears slow. According to Danis, the footage was from his warm-up to a six-round, full-paced boxing spar with Pereira, a session which, according to Danis, not many fighters could have seen through to the end given Pereira’s sheer power.
Whether Danis’ preparation is enough to defeat Logan Paul in a boxing ring remains to be seen. Although Danis has no professional boxing experience, he is a four-time world champion in Jiu-Jitsu. We’ll find out a week on Saturday if his experience in Mixed Martial Arts is enough to defeat Paul.
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