Magomed Zaynukov has no regrets about brawling with Dillon Danis.
On Saturday, “Chanco”- or as he’s become affectionately known to many fans, “John Pork” – was in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York for UFC 322 to watch teammate Islam Makhachev challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title in the main event. But before that happened, Chanco and several other members of Makhachev’s team got into a brawl with Dillon Danis in the crowd, resulting in all parties being removed from the event. On Sunday, Chanco spoke about how the incident kicked off.
“He has to answer for everything that is said, and he allowed himself to do such things, posted, threw up all sorts of incomprehensible posts,” Zaynukov told Ushatayka (Russian translation via YouTube). “… There was no time to think about anything. I flew in and hit him from the right; he fell, and then it all went on and on from there. … In the end, we were kicked out. It would have been better if we had watched the fight at home in the hotel.”
While Chanco did not get into specifics about what Danis said or posted that set him off, the Misfits MMA champion has been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career. Danis was famously sued by Nina Agdal, Logan Paul’s wife, for comments made about her in the buildup to his boxing match with Paul, and it seems something similar occurred here, with Chanco and company looking to handle the issue personally, as opposed to in court.
“I didn’t know him at all,” Zaynukov said. “I didn’t even know that he would be in the arena. I didn’t think he’d have the courage to come here like this. Maybe he didn’t have enough attention and wanted some hype. For some people, it’s probably just hype. But it’s not for us. It’s not hype. We seem to have different principles. …
“He wrote about Islam, about Khabib. This is my team, these are my brothers, and I am always with them.”
Ultimately, no charges were filed against anyone, and nobody appears to have been seriously injured in the brawl. UFC CEO Dana White later announced Danis is banned from attending future UFC events, and Zaynukov suffered some minor scratches on his knuckles, but that’s about it. Chanco wished there had been more opportunity to fight, because Danis deserved more.
“I think it was not enough,” Zaynukov said. “This was not enough for him. In terms of what he’s done, it’s not much. That type of thing can’t be forgiven. You have to be responsible for that. That’s our way of life. If you said something, you’ve got to be responsible for your words.
“But as for him, I have no clue what’s their way of life here. They say anything they want, they can insult someone’s family, and it means nothing for them. But for us, any single word has meaning, and you must answer for it.”
Zaynukov is an undefeated MMA prospect who just signed with the UFC after winning on Contender Series in October. His UFC debut is yet to be scheduled.
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