Dillon Danis, with zero pro MMA fights on resume, says 'Bellator: NYC' will tank without him

Dillon Danis hasn’t even competed in his first professional MMA fight, but he claims Bellator is missing out on a big financial opportunity by not putting him in the promotion’s second pay-per-view event just two months away.

“We’d have to talk,” Danis told MMAjunkie prior to this past Friday’s Bellator 175. “We’d have to talk numbers, we’d have to talk everything. Just enticement. Because at the end of the day, that pay-per-view is not going to sell unless I’m on it.

“They’ve got a bunch of guys that no one cares about. But you put me on there, and the numbers will skyrocket, in my hometown, Madison Square Garden. The ball’s in their field.”

Danis (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) made a lot of headlines for outlandish claims even before he signed with the Viacom-owned promotion, so fighting on June 24 at “Bellator: NYC” shouldn’t catch anyone by surprise. Since stepping into the MMA spotlight as Conor McGregor’s jiu-jitsu coach and signing with Bellator, he’s followed a similar verbal path as the UFC lightweight champ.

Recently, Danis said he’s the highest paid fighter on the Bellator roster, a statement so ridiculous it’s impossible to take seriously. But as he makes clear, it doesn’t really matter whether people believe him or not.

“At the end of the day, I say what I want, I do what I want,” he said. “And no one’s going to stop me. If you don’t think I’m the highest paid, come say it to my face.”

There are plenty of opponents already waiting to do that. He’s set to headline the grappling-only Submission Underground 4 opposite onetime UFC title challenger Jake Shields, and Bellator veteran Steve Kozola (8-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) wants to face him in the cage when he makes his debut.

Danis is now targeting December for his first walk to the cage, though he cautioned his coaches will ultimately decide when he’s ready. Right now, though, his mouth is lining up plenty of fights.

For more on “Bellator:NYC” and “Bellator: 180,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.