Dana White Bans Dillon Danis From All Future UFC Events After UFC 322 Brawl

“I blame myself for that”

White revealed that he was warned about Danis’ presence before the incident and now regrets how he handled it.

“I blame myself for that, actually,” White said. “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.

“They said, ‘Do you want us to throw him out of here?’ I said, ‘He has a ticket?’ They said, ‘Yeah.’ They told me, ‘(Jorge) Masvidal said he’s going to f*ck him up on sight.’ I said, ‘Well, where’s Masvidal sitting?’ He said, ‘Oh, well he’s six or seven rows away from Masvidal.’ I said, ‘If the guy has a ticket, let him sit in his seat and let him do what he’s doing and keep an eye on him.’”

White admitted he didn’t consider the other element in play: a deep Dagestani and Muslim contingent in the front rows backing Makhachev.

“It didn’t even cross my mind, as stupid as this could be, that the entire Muslim Brotherhood was here tonight in the first five rows for Islam,” White said. “As soon as it broke out, I was on the other side, and I go, ‘F*ck. I know exactly what that is. I knew it.’ You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again.”

No UFC charges, but a hard line drawn

Despite the chaos, White said the UFC will not press charges against Danis.

“Well, that and a lot of other reasons (are why Danis is not on the roster),” White said. “You’ll never see him at another fight. So they called me from downstairs and they said, ‘We got him down here, do you want to press charges and have him arrested?’

“I said, ‘We don’t want to press charges. This is the fight business. You know how I feel about this sh*t. I could’ve prevented this tonight, and I messed up. … We’re not pressing charges. I’m not speaking for MSG or anybody else who was involved in this thing. We, the UFC, are not pressing charges against anybody.’”

The New York Police Department did not immediately comment, and it remains unclear whether any other parties will pursue legal action.

A long history of trouble

Danis, 32, has built a reputation as one of combat sports’ most polarizing figures since transitioning from elite grappling to MMA and gaining fame as a training partner of Conor McGregor. He returned to MMA in August after years of inactivity, stopping Warren Spence in just 15 seconds, and has campaigned loudly for a UFC deal.

White’s comments on Saturday made it clear that’s not happening.

Danis has been involved in several high-profile incidents over the years. Including the infamous post-fight brawl at UFC 229, when Khabib Nurmagomedov leapt out of the cage and attacked Danis, who was cornering McGregor.

Now after UFC 322, White says Danis is done in the building entirely. Not just outside the Octagon, but anywhere near it.