Dillon Danis’ MMA return is off after brawl with Team Khabib that earned him UFC ban from Dana White

Dillon Danis has been ruled out of his MMA comeback that was due to take place later this month after a controversial brawl in New York.

The divisive BJJ black belt returned to action after a six-year absence back in September when he submitted Warren Spencer within 15 seconds. He was due to come back in the co-main event of Andrew Tate’s showdown with Chase DeMoor in Dubai against the much more experienced Anthony Taylor.

However, Bloody Elbow understands that injuries sustained in the infamous crowd fight at UFC 322 that saw Dana White ban him from events for life, have rendered him unable to fight on December 20. He is expected to fight again next year once he has recovered, and Taylor will now pivot to a boxing fight.

Dillon Danis out of Misfits MMA return after UFC 322 brawl

The return of Dillon Danis was one of the key selling points of this month’s big Misfits Boxing card, which was to feature an MMA fight between he and Anthony Taylor.

Last month, Danis found himself in a brawl that even caused interruption in the start of the pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. The New Yorker was reportedly antagonizing members of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team, who were there to support Islam Makhachev.

It all led to an ugly scene where videos showed Danis being punched in the back of the head by the recently-signed Magomed Zaynukov among others. And while he had appeared to be fine as he continued posting to social media, Misfits have announced he is now unable to fight on December 20.

Do you feel sympathy for Dillon Danis?

This isn’t the first time a Dillon Danis fight has been called off, but it genuinely seems to be not his fault this time. Do you feel any sympathy for him at all>

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“Unfortunately, Dillon Danis will not be competing at the Fight Before Christmas event in Dubai on December 20,2025,” a statement read.
“Independent physicians have determined that he’s not medically cleared to compete at this time due to the melee that occurred at Madison Square Garden last month.
“We want to be very direct: this call is being made solely by medical professionals. Dillon pushed for every possible path to remain on the card, but the doctors were not willing to clear him to compete this month.
“Misfits Boxing takes athlete health extremely seriously, and we fully expect him back in the Misfits ring in 2026 to defend his Misfits MMA title.”

The event will now be co-main evented by Tony Ferguson vs Warren Spencer in a boxing match, with the headliner being Andrew Tate vs Chase DeMoor. In a first for Misfits Boxing, the show will not be broadcast on DAZN.

It is instead being broadcast on Rumble Premium, the first major sporting event on the PPV platform.

Luckily for Misfits, they received two bouts of injury news as Slim Albaher suffered an injury in training meaning that an easy replacement matchup has emerged. Anthony Taylor now faces Most Valuable Promotion’s Neeraj Goyat in a battle of Jake Paul stablemates.

Goyat is one of the few men’s fighters signed to MVP under Paul, and has been angling to fight the social media star for years. Taylor is a former training partner and teammate of the social media star who got his break in boxing fighting on the undercards of his fights with Tyron Woodley.

New York Mayor plans to ‘hold accountable’ all parties in Dillon Danis brawl

As far as Dana White was concerned, Danis was seen as the main culprit for what happened at UFC 322. He was instantly slapped with a lifetime ban by the promotion, although no further charges were pressed on the night.

However, it does appear that there is a pattern with the Dagestani fight team getting into altercations away from the cage. And outgoing New York mayor Eric Adams, who leaves his post in less than a month, has said that the incident is being investigated further by New York Police.

“These assaults at Madison Square Garden are completely unacceptable,” Adams wrote on X alongside footage of the brawl. “The NYPD is already conducting a full investigation, and everyone responsible will be held accountable.”