Dillon Danis already has lofty goals he plans on completing.
This past Saturday night (April 28), Danis made his professional mixed martial arts debut a successful one. He submitted Kyle Walker in the main card opener of Bellator 198. Danis had a bit of trouble in the stand-up, but he was in his world when the fight got to the ground.
Backstage, Danis said he had considered calling out former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight title holder Ben Askren. It didn’t take long for Askren to respond:
He realizes this isn’t reality so he feels safe doing so. Maybe he should fight someone with a winning record first https://t.co/X2dGlYTVyI
— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) April 29, 2018
During a recent appearance on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour,” Danis explained why he believes he can take Askren out early in his career:
“I feel like I am the one to beat his undefeated record. It would, I think, be a ground fight and it would be an easy submission for me. He does not like leg attacks. I know his game very well. I feel like he would be scared to go to the ground with me. So, yeah. I believe it would be an easy fight.”
Askren’s professional MMA record stands at 18-0, 1 NC. He retired after successfully defending his ONE Championship welterweight title against Shinya Aoki. Askren has made it clear that bouts with Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald would convince him to return.
Throughout his career, Askren has defeated the likes of Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, and Lyman Good. Lima and Koreshkov ended up becoming Bellator welterweight champions years after they fought Askren. Good lost his title to Askren.
At the Bellator 198 post-fight scrum, the promotion’s president Scott Coker said he doesn’t believe Askren really wants to fight. Time will tell if “Funky” will make his way back to the Bellator cage. If he does, a fight with Danis likely won’t be on the table anytime soon.
Do you think Dillon Danis is getting too ahead of himself?
