Dillon Danis and Jon Jones have been embroiled in a long-standing rivalry, yet a professional bout between the two has never come to fruition. At 30 years old, Danis holds a 2-0 record in MMA and has recently ventured into professional boxing, where he stands at 0-1 following his debut in October 2023.
A celebrated BJJ practitioner, ‘El Jefe’ contrasts sharply with the 36-year-old Jones, who has an extensive MMA record of 27 wins, 1 loss, and 1 no contest. Jones, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, currently holds the UFC heavyweight title.
During an appearance on the Flagrant 2 podcast in 2021, host Andrew Schulz probed Danis on whether there was any fighter he would avoid in MMA due to their superior skill or size. Danis took this opportunity to mock Jon Jones’ physique, particularly his legs while revisiting their past beef. ‘El Jefe’ remarked:
“To be honest, I had beef with Jon Jones. We tried to set up the fight. And he ran for, like, years. I mean, Jon Jones was running forever … You see his legs? … I would snap them.”
Danis also revealed that Jones had blocked him and Daniel Cormier on Instagram, suggesting it was out of fear. He confidently stated:
“I’m not joking. I swear to God. He has me blocked. He has me blocked on Instagram. He has me and ‘DC’ [Daniel Cormier] blocked … He’s like, scared.”
He dismissed the idea of a jiu-jitsu match with Jones unless it was financially enticing, indicating he found the challenge beneath him. Schulz questioned Danis further about whether he truly believed Jones was avoiding an MMA confrontation. Danis doubled down, emphasizing Jones’ apprehension and readiness to show evidence of being blocked on his phone.
When asked if Jones feared his fighting skills or his knack for social media trolling, Danis labeled Jones “soft,” implying that the heavyweight champion could not handle his psychological tactics.
In a separate interview on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN MMA in 2019, Danis detailed how he would approach a hypothetical MMA fight against Jon Jones. Despite their weight difference, Danis drew from his experience grappling with much heavier opponents in BJJ. He suggested a specific technique to target Jones’ lower body:
“Even if we fought in MMA, I feel like from his stance and how tall he is, I feel like if I did an Imanari Roll, I would take his leg home with me.”
"If I did an Imanari roll, I'd take his leg home with me."@dillondanis predicts how he sees a fight with Jon Jones going (via @arielhelwani) pic.twitter.com/YQzAfoUsuX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 17, 2019
Currently, Danis is rebounding from a disqualification loss to Logan Paul in their boxing match last October. Meanwhile, Jones last competed in March 2023, securing the UFC heavyweight title with a first-round submission victory over Ciryl Gane. While Jones is recovering from an injury, he is anticipated to defend his title against Stipe Miocic in a highly anticipated match later this year.
