Islam Makhachev’s close friend Magomed Zaynukov has gone into detail about why he went after Dillon Danis in a brawl at cageside last night.
The undefeated contender is known affectionately by fans as ‘John Pork’ after a mishearing of his nickname ‘Chanco’ during a video Makhachev did with Demetrious Johnson. He enjoyed a star-making week in New York for UFC 322, despite not being on the card.
Fans chanted his name at the pre-fight press conference, and he was featured in a lot of promotional footage for the event. And he went viral on the night as he threw punches at divisive Danis in a brawl that saw the BJJ black belt banned for life from the UFC.
Islam Makhachev’s teammate gives his side of Dillon Danis brawl
During the start of the broadcast last night, Dillon Danis found himself taking on a number of Islam Makhachev’s teammates in a bizarre cageside brawl at Madison Square Garden. The Misfits MMA champion showed with minimal fanfare to the event, but was attacked and outnumbered by Russians.
One man caught in the middle of proceedings was Magomed Zaynukov, who is known to fans as ‘John Pork’. He could be seen throwing punches in the brawl, and speaking with Ushatayka after the incident, Zaynukov explained exactly what happened.
“There’s a scratch there,” he said of his injured knuckles. “Must be his tooth… I hit him and here’s the bump.” When asked if he had hit anybody else in the fracas, he laughed and replied: “No, no, no, only him.
“I think it was not enough, he should have gotten more. In terms of what he has said, these types of things can’t be forgiven. You have to be responsible for that, it’s our way of life if you said something you’ve got to be responsible for your words.
“But as for him, I have no clue what their way of life is there. They say anything they want, you can insult someone’s family, and it means nothing for them. But for us any single word has its meaning and you have to be accountable for it.”
Dillon Danis banned for life from UFC after UFC 322 brawl
Despite the fact that he seems to have been attacked by multiple men at once, it was Dillon Danis who suffered the most severe punishment for his role in the incident. Dana White has confirmed that he will no longer be welcome at any more UFC shows.
After claiming he could have stopped the altercation had he shown more foresight, White told the media last night: “You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again. Yeah, you’ll never see him at another fight.
“They called me from downstairs and said, ‘We’ve got him down here, do you wanna press charges and have him arrested?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t wanna press charges’. This is the fight business, man. I could’ve prevented this tonight, and I messed up.”