Dillon Danis says Conor McGregor is not only back, but he’s better than ever.
McGregor, who is the biggest star in MMA history, has not competed in nearly five years, since shattering his leg against Dustin Poirier in their trilogy bout at UFC 264. McGregor was intending to return last summer at UFC 303, but an injury forced him off the card. Now, McGregor is rumored to be in talks to finally get back into the octagon this summer, and when he does, his friend and training partner, Dillon Danis, says he’s going to put on quite the show.
“To be honest, I would say he’s like the old Conor, but I think he’s better than the old Conor,” Danis told MMA Fighting. “We text almost every day, FaceTime. The way I’ve been seeing him training, the way he’s taking everything so serious — he didn’t travel to a couple of BKFC’s because he wanted to stay in camp and make sure he was training and doing all the stuff that he has to do.
“I am excited to see him come back. That’s why I’m saying it’s hard to even compare the Conor that was back then. Conor’s always Conor, but this one is dedicated, focused, training, doing everything, even the extras. Even doing the stuff that not every fighter does. It’s really exciting to see. I text him like, ‘Bro, you’re f*cking killing it right now.’ I’m so happy. As a friend, I’m so excited for him to come back, and the person that he’s fighting is going to get his head taken off. I can’t wait.”
It’s still uncertain if McGregor will actually return this summer. “Notorious” was linked to the UFC White House card, but then rumors pivoted to a possible comeback at this year’s International Fight Week. And if he does come back, who he fights is still an open question. Previously, McGregor was set to fight Michael Chandler, and has continued to lobby for that matchup, but recently, UFC CEO Dana White shut that idea down, and Chandler is now scheduled to face Mauricio Ruffy at UFC White House.
Danis hinted that he might know who is on offer for McGregor’s return, but would not say anything more on the subject. However, if he had his druthers, Danis would like a fight that will almost certainly never happen: a rematch between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I want the Khabib rematch,” Danis said. “He’s talked about some of the things that happened in that camp. I think now, the Conor that he is right now, he demolishes Khabib inside two.”
Danis has his own history with Nurmagomedov, being the one Khabib attacked after submitting McGregor, leading to their infamous brawl.
But Danis has a different wrestler to worry about at the moment. On Saturday night, Danis faces Colby Covington in the co-main event of RAF 7, his first foray into amateur wrestling.
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