In an exclusive interview with Casinobeats.com, Dillon Danis says that KSI has 100% been taking steroids and revealed that Arsenal fans have warned him to wear a stab vest when he lands in the UK…
Full interview below:
Q: How are you feeling, how’s the training going?
A: I’m feeling good. I haven’t trained boxing though for this fight, just MMA. I’m in good shape, my weight is really low, so I’m just chilling out, just training, keeping the cardio up, and I’m excited to get out there.
Q: You look relaxed. When are you flying over to Manchester? You’re still in the States now, right?
A: Yeah, I’m in New York right now. I think Tuesday or Monday, something like that.
I’m not sure. I have to be there by Wednesday, so I think either Monday or Tuesday. The flight kind of sucks, but it’s not too bad.
Q: Yeah, I saw you said your favorite thing about the UK is the girls. But, what’s your least favorite thing? Because I’m sure you’d rather be having this fight in New York, right?
A: Of course. Somewhere in the States, to be honest. Not that I hate the UK or anything. America is just different, but what do I hate the most? Manchester sucks, but London is cool.
In Manchester, there was nowhere to go out, there was nothing to do there. But in London we had some fun. It’s kind of like New York a little bit. But Manchester is definitely rough. The food wasn’t too bad, but we went to nice restaurants in London. There’s nothing that I hate too much about the UK, just maybe the scenery isn’t as nice as New York.
Q: I saw you learning some British slang off Ramzy. How’s that going?
A: That dude’s crazy. I had no idea what the hell he was saying for like 20 minutes. I was just looking at him, but he had a different kind of accent. Usually I can understand everybody, but he was really intense and, like I couldn’t understand anything he was saying, but I was trying to learn some British slang. I say mad c**t and c**t a lot, but I guess that’s more Australian.
I couldn’t tell if he was f**king with me at one point because he was mumbling. I can usually understand every accent. He was actually a good guy though. It was actually a good interview. But he was asking some stupid questions, but it was alright.
Q: KSI’s forehead seems to get bigger every time I look at it.
A: I mean yeah, it’s crazy. I’d never seen him in person until the face to face, and I was looking at him and found myself staring at him and how crazy it was. Because it’s not even big it just rounds off at the top. So it’s like a predator. It’s crazy looking. Who’s that old cartoon where the thing has the big brain, Megamind? It’s just so crazy looking. In the face-to-face he was trying to say that he’s bringing big foreheads back in the style and all this s**t, it’s so cheesy. I don’t know when it’s going to drop but it’s so cheesy the way he was talking about it. He was trying to say that he’s gonna bring it back and the people are not gonna go to Turkey anymore for hair transplants. The crazy thing is his head’s so big, but he’s so stupid. His s**t talk was so bad, but it might have been a ruse to not get me too mad where they wouldn’t let us close because he I think he had that pancake thing all day long in his head. So I think he was trying to be really timid all day so that nothing popped off so then they wouldn’t let us get close. But he was really smart with that f**king thing because they checked us before we got on the stage and then when we came off to do the weigh-in and go back in, his bodyguards slipped him the pancake so like they didn’t recheck us and all the f**king stewards went and bought a coffee or something. I didn’t even think about it. But it’s hard because he runs the show and he knows everything that’s happening. So you have to watch out for everything. You can’t trust any of the guys that work there too because they all get paid by him.
Q: You vs Logan generated a staggering 1.3 million PPV buys. Do you think Unfinished Business will beat those numbers?
A: Nah. I think if he would let me promote the way I want to promote and he would promote and do something at least then I think it would. But the way he’s been, I think he doesn’t want to set me off and get into a battle. Like I’ve seen a lot of influencers and even fighters say they don’t ‘want to talk s**t about Dillon because he’s going to go too crazy’ or something like that. So I think he just doesn’t wanna set me off. And then in the contract, there’s so many things that I can’t say, and then it’s so broad that like, I’ll be sued. So it’s just not even worth me getting sued again. So I just have to be super careful and then he’s not going at it, so it’s just stupid. And then Logan is like really on him right now. People don’t believe me and like Andrew Tate even heard about it. He said it in a recent interview, but Logan is super, super mad with him right now. So like something was like him pulling his shares or Logan pulling his, I don’t know, some crazy thing. I don’t really know exactly what’s going on, but he was really pissed off. So like every time DAZN posts me. They end up deleting it. If you go back and look, every time DAZN is posting me and Logan or anything, he says he’s gonna subpoena them, so they delete everything. So it’s f**king bulls**t. It’s because of Logan, and obviously KSI’s in bed with Logan, so they don’t want to piss him off or some stupid s**t.
Q: Are there any boxers that you really took up to and you kind of want to model your boxing technique on, or are you just kind of going your own path?
A: Definitely, but my goal wasn’t to be a boxer. So this stuff is kind of like, not to copy Conor’s words, but this is like a side job. I grew up watching JiuJitsu and MMA. My favorite boxer is Arturo Gatti. And he’s from the same city, I’m from Jersey City over here, and he was a crazy dude around here. But yeah, I like his style and the way he fought, so I would probably try to fight like him. Or Roberto Duran, someone that, a lot of pressure and forward, you know.
Q: You said you’re going to stand there and KSI is probably going to, like, jump around doing his little star jump.
A: I hope he stands there and tries to swing on me. I mean, once he gets hit with the first shot, I think it’s going to change a lot of things. He talks a big game, but he’s not confident. I met him before he was even boxing and he was such a nerd and he went to our private school. He acts like he’s so tough. Like he’s gong to see it’s different when you get hit really hard. He hasn’t fought me. In reality he’s only beat Logan like I mean we fought the same guy and I mean he’s fought people who are terrible honestly. Besides Tommy Fury. So like we’re going to see how he is when someone hits him hard.
Q: Does anybody even know KSI over there in America?
A: Nah, 100% they don’t know him. Because even when I would go to bars or something like that, no one even knows I’m fighting KSI. They would talk about Tony Ferguson. And when I was fighting Logan, definitely people knew about Logan. But out here, nobody knows KSI and they only knew about him when they found out I was fighting him. So, I told him that in the face off. He said he can’t walk in the streets. I said that nobody even knows who you are. But I guess in UK, he’s kinda big, but mostly only with kids.
Q: Whatever happens in the KSI fight, win or lose, would you be open to an MMA rematch in the octagon?
A: There is a rematch clause.
Q: Would that be in the octagon? Is there any chance we could have it in there?
A: Nah. I don’t know if he’ll admit it on camera, but we spoke about it and he said that I’d kill him. There is no point. Which is so crazy to think about, because I could kill him right there if I wanted to. And he was on his best behavior in the face to face because we only had one security each and I could’ve got to him. So he was like apologizing and being really f**king timid. But yeah, it’s so stupid. But yeah they won’t fight MMA. Logan promised me he was gonna fight me in MMA. He never did. It’s just f**ked up that they won’t do it, you know? Like why not? I’m not a boxer, I’m going to box him.
Q: I saw on your Instagram story you were bigging up Conor McGregor and saying he would be the best president of Ireland. Do you think there’s a chance we could see that happen?
A: 100% I don’t know exactly how the Irish political system works. Is it like the United States? So if he has all the credentials, I think the people will get behind him because he’s standing up for what people are trying to say that the president isn’t saying. I’m not too familiar with Irish politics, obviously, but it seems like he’s saying what all the people are saying and what the president is ignoring. He was the one that was there yesterday and saying all the stuff that everybody else is scared to say. So I would definitely vote for him if I can. I’ve been there a lot of years, so maybe I’ll have citizenship.
Q: Just going back to KSI for a minute, like, you know the rumors that people that are juicing their forehead gets bigger. Do you think there is any truth in that?
A: 100%, especially the weight that he put on in such a short amount of time. Plus his teammate popping, which I posted. At the press conference, he was like, ‘post it, post it’. And I was like, ‘okay, I’m gonna post it’. Then the guy, and his gym was popped for it. So usually when one of them is doing it, all of them are doing it. And he draws with Logan, who’s no juicer, obviously. It’s been almost a year, and he’s put on some serious size. I mean, not in the legs, but in the upper body and the forehead, the acne on the back. It’s hard to gain, like, kind of like, you know, muscle mass at a certain amount of time. I mean, that s**t can help you though.
Q: We know KSI is an Arsenal fan and we saw you taking the Arsenal shirt and then doing what you did. Did you get any backlash from the Arsenal fans?
A: They keep telling me to wear a stab vest. I think that’s what they were calling a stab vest. They keep saying they’re going to stab me. I get like at least a thousand messages a day. Like, ‘when you come here, wear a stab vest, we’re going to stab you’. But over there, no one ever says anything.
No one’s ever too crazy. Even at the press conference. Everybody had my back, even the people in the crowd, that’s his territory. I think he lives in London, I’m not sure. Even after the whole thing happened, everybody was always on my side, all the crowd was on my side. I haven’t run into anybody in London that’s been super hostile. But I guess for Arsenal, you never know. Liverpool’s like the one that beats them all the time. How far is Liverpool from Manchester? It’s pretty close, right?
That’s where Darren Till’s from, right? I’m so mad that he wasn’t at the press conference. I was going to rip him apart. I had some good stuff for him. Apparently, he said he had COVID and he didn’t want to give it to people. I didn’t know COVID was a thing anymore. I think he was just making excuses. And then the guy he’s fighting, I have no idea who the f**k that guy is. He was trying to talk to me or something. He was trying to talk s**t or whatever. I have no idea who that guy was. It looks like Tyron Woodley.
I had no idea who he was though. Apparently he was in the UFC, but I don’t think he was good at all. It’s just Darren Till, just fighting s***ty guys. Like he fought Anthony Taylor and I was fighting him. He offered him an MMA when Tommy Fury pulled out, they offered him the fight in MMA. He said that he has such a bad knee injury from the UFC that he’s scared that I’ll leg lock him and hurt him again. So that’s why he didn’t want to.
Q: Can you give us any words of advice for someone struggling with an injury and trying to bounce back from that?
A: To be honest, I didn’t do too well with it because I got into a bad state a couple times. But mine was like back to back because like the first one failed, so I had to get it over again. So the first one was nine months, the second one was nine months, and then it was a mess, mentally. I think you just have to stay strong, and I think that, at the time, when you see nine months ahead of you, you kind of can’t really grab it.
It just seems so f**king far away that you’re like, ‘man, nine months?’ It feels like forever. So you’re sitting and then you’re stuck in one position, you’re sitting in bed, you’re not doing anything, and then once you get up on the crutches, I was going around to f**king bars and clubs and crutches and like knocking people out with my crutches.
It was really bad. And I got into that altercation with that bouncer. I was on crutches. I fought eight guys, and a bad dude f**king jumped on my back on the crutches of my knee, probably messed up my knee. I was being stupid, but it is what it is. You know, I’ve never been through something like that. So it was hard to deal with, and the drinking and the medication they’re giving you. It just got into a whole mess, but it is what it is. Now my knee is fine and I’m back into it.
Q: It must feel amazing coming out the other side and feeling all that’s behind you and now just looking forward
A: Yeah, in a sense it feels good because I’m like, ‘oh, I want to fight MMA. I want to go back to what I love’, and then they keep f**king throwing these stupid boxing matches at me. So it is annoying. I hate not using my best attribute that I trained since I was a kid. Put any of these great grapplers in the UFC in a boxing match, they would get destroyed. So I think it is what it is.
Q: It must be tough to not look ahead too far to the Tony Ferguson match?
A: I’m so excited for it. I can’t wait to roast him too. I can’t wait. I want to get a face-to-face with him or like a phone call. That’s going to be a fun one. Because he actually knows how to talk and promote the fight. KSI has been terrible at this. Logan was way better. Way better. How much time did they give me pay per view? They didn’t give me pay per view the last time. Now they gave me pay per view and now he’s not f**king doing anything. So, yeah, it f**king sucks. But what you gonna do.
Q: Your transition to BJJ has been discussed widely. Like how do you integrate grappling into your overall strategy during a fight?
A: MMA? I think it’s the same thing. Marcel told me that when I was about to fight MMA, don’t think about it too much. You can do the same moves in MMA. You just have to believe in them. So I think it’s the same thing. You should have to be careful with the punches, obviously, but you know, all the same techniques work and most of these guys are not even close to my level. I’ve been training with punches since I was young, so I’m used to being able to defend. After Tony, we’re going to keep going and then get to the UFC and get that belt.
Q: So post Ferguson, the plan is to approach the UFC? Have you got any particular opponents in mind, or are you just going to see what the UFC suggests?
A: So many easy ones. I think give me a warm up fight. I would go in, I mean, they would have to be a big fight because they’re going to make so much money off the pay per view. Right now they’re lacking pay per view sales and stars. Depends if I do 170 or 155, but like an easy fight, like Leon or something like that that would be an easy one. Who else is there? Um, I don’t know, uh, 170 would be a good warm fight. Kevin Holland’s terrible. I don’t know if he’s in 170 anymore. Joaquin Buckley, Colvin Covington, they’re all terrible. Colby would be a good one. Yeah, I don’t think he would fight me, though. He knows I would tap him. We were supposed to do a grappling match a couple of times, he didn’t want to do it, and then we were supposed to grapple for one of Trump’s things, and he didn’t want to do it, so he knows I would submit him. He’s kind of just riding off and just taking easy fights now.
Q: I spoke to Ian Garry and he was saying how Colby is just kind of off the radar now really?
A: I’d like to fight Ian Garry, that would be a good one, too. I went after him before, so he hates me pretty good too. He’s terrible at talking, he’s terrible at promoting and then like turning off his comments on Instagram. He can’t do that when you’re in this game, if you’re on a talk show, you’re not able to take it back. I held back on him too, because of the Irish thing and his connection to Ireland, and I didn’t go too hard on him. So he’s lucky, but if we ever fought, I would unleash some stuff that I have on him that is pretty bad.
Q: Maybe that’s why he’s just keeping a low profile?
A: He did have a good fight, though, against Shavkat, I was impressed by him. I actually did not even think he would be able to stay in there with him. But he did a really good job taking the back. His jiu jitsu looked really good.
Q: Have you got any thoughts about who you’re going to have in your corner for this KSI fight?
Q: Yeah, I’m not sure yet, but there might be some special appearances by some of my friends. So it should be exciting. Okay, so it’ll be one of those ones you have to tune in to find out? I always bring the chaos and the fun stuff. Will it be Elle Brooke? Elle Brooke, Lily Phillips, and Bonnie Blue. That’s the crew you guys, you guys got over there! You know what I’m talking about, right? The triple threat.
Q: As someone with a strong online presence, how do you balance your persona on social-media and your identity as a professional fighter?
A: I just kind of learned to just ride the wave. Whatever people say they’re going to say. So it doesn’t really matter to me. When I was younger, it kind of bothered me, but now if people are talking, it’s good. But I just be myself. I say what I feel and I do what I feel and made a lot of mistakes. It is what it is but no one really knows the real me. The most asked question to my friends is like ‘Is Dillon really an asshole?’ or people say I’m scared to meet him or something like that.
So people think I’m like that in the gym or I’m like that around my kid or around my family or around people that I love or my friends. If you meet anybody that’s going to help me I’ll buy fans like thousands of shots and do everything and take care of everybody and give people money. So I’m actually a really loving person but when it comes to fighting and combat, when someone’s trying to kill you in a ring or a cage, I think it becomes a different story.
That’s the thing about me, I will talk about anything, I don’t really give a s**t and I don’t care about the backlash either, so it doesn’t matter to me. I mean, I’m an open book and I say how I feel and people hate it or they love it. Like the thing with Ariel, did really good numbers because it was just me being me, just talking about whatever it is.
Q: So it must frustrate you when you’re feeling censored? You tweeted on March 14th, do I say f**k it and just let everything out?
A: It is actually frustrating but once you go through a lawsuit, you kind of don’t want to f**king play that game anymore. I don’t know if you’ve ever been sued, but it’s a f**king pain in the f**king ass, man. That sucks. And then I’m like, if I do this, I lose the fight and the people think I’m going to do it on purpose. It’s just annoying, because I want to build this fight up. I want it to be fun. That makes it fun for me, you know, because at the end of the day what am I fighting KSI for? I mean it’s money. I’m not like doing it for my accolades. I’m not going to go on my deathbed and tell my kid hey, I beat KSI in a boxing match.
I want the real deal opponents like Tony Ferguson, a former world champion. One of the best fighters ever a UFC Hall of Famer, that matters to me. So with these fights you kind of have to build them up and make it fun and so it’s f***ing stupid that there’s quite all these stipulations on me and him not promoting so it’s kind of boring in a sense. It’s like why am I doing this?
Q: It’s your first day stepping into the gym – talk us through, what were the feelings and emotions, what was the goal?
A: So how I started training was after I got into a street fight. I was in middle school and I got into a big fight and I beat the kid. And then the kid was popular so all his friends wanted to beat me up. And back then it used to be like a long distance to get to the school bus and all his friends would try to jump me before I got to the bus. So I was like, man, I have to f**king learn how to fight. Then I saw a magazine that had an ad for an MMA gym and I just went in and then I got my ass whooped in jiu jitsu!
But I’m so competitive that it was like, I have to come back and keep coming back. I don’t know if I would remember certain details, but I do remember getting beaten up and being like, oh s**t, I need to learn this. I’m super competitive. So obviously once you go in there and you feel like a f**king fish outta water, you know? It changes you. It fixes your ego up and seeing well how easily, like a little Indian guy can f**king choke you out 5,000 times and you’ll be like, what the f**k is this? I wasn’t the biggest kid, so I wasn’t like a big jock or anything like that. But it opens your mind into like, oh s**t, I could learn how to do this. And then training every day, twice a day, three times a day, missing school. And then it just turned into this, you know?
At Crowns gym they have cold plunges, red light therapy and saunas. Do you use any of those techniques to recover after your training and fights?
A: I do like the sauna. I use the sauna almost every day but I hate cold plunge. I can’t do it. I’m a pussy. I don’t know why, I just hate it. I do like the Normatec boots and stuff like that. I don’t do too much recovery. I’m just pretty old school, hard work and just f**king keep pushing, you know, grinding.
How do you mentally push through days when training feels impossible? Has there been any days where training for this KSI fight has been a drag?
A: Yeah I mean, it’s tough when you go into a f**king boxing gym and you get these boxers and they’re moving around and they’re acting like they’re the s**t and you’re like, man I could just take you down and f**king choke you out in 20 seconds. It is what it is you know, I guess it’s good to humble you or your ego and put that s**t aside and just be like, okay I’m learning. But it is tough though, because a lot of these boxing gyms, they guys walk around with a big ego, and they think they’re the s**t, and I’m like I just want to f**king kick you once or something like that, you know?
If they start getting too crazy on the hands, I’ll just do a double leg kick and then they’ll be like what the f**k? That’s the only thing that kind of gets a little bit frustrating, is you’re doing so much boxing when I love grappling. I love a real fight. I told KSI that too. I was like dude me and you are going to do a street fight with no gloves on and then we’ll see what’s up.
Q: We’ve seen a lot of social media influencers have a go at boxing, but do you think anyone could go and do MMA?
A: It depends on the competition they face but a guy like Terrence Crawford, who has a wrestling background. He could probably do it but it’s so hard to learn Jiu Jitsu. There’s a reason they don’t have any influencer MMA and KSI or Logan Paul don’t do MMAs because it’s so hard to learn Jiu Jitsu. It takes so many years of practice and mental, it’s like chess whereas boxing is more like, I would say less than checkers, because you’ve only got four punches. So it’s just easier to learn. A big strong guy could throw punches, but on the ground, it’s a lot different when you have to learn every single way to put your arm and every single technique and it’s just so much more to it. There’s so many elements to it.
