“You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again.” Dana White said at the UFC 322 post-fight presser, banning Dillon Danis for life from UFC events after he jumped into a full-fledged brawl with Islam Makhachev’s teammates at Madison Square Garden. Despite ‘El Jefe’ receiving punishment from the CEO, fans continue to grill him for joining the melee and getting escorted out of the arena. And now, Alex Pereira and his team have found themselves in the crossfire.

On November 15th, Alex Pereira and his head coach, Plinio Cruz, joined the star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden to watch the superfights. Both of them enjoyed the night, snapped photos with MMA stars like Georges St-Pierre, and uploaded the pictures on Instagram. In one of those photo series, Pereira and his coach also snapped a picture with Dillon Danis, taken shortly before the brawl.

For the unversed, the reigning light heavyweight champion and Dillon Danis have trained together on multiple occasions and share a friendly bond. In a 2023 interview with MMA Junkie, ‘Poatan’ even called him a “great guy” after they shared a brief training session. Moreover, the Brazilian powerhouse and Danis trained together again, just before Pereira prepared to fight Magomed Ankalaev for the first time at UFC 313.

So, when he snapped the picture with Danis, he had no clue that his occasional training partner was about to leave MSG by getting into an altercation that people ended up talking about more than some of the fights themselves. Despite Pereira’s large fanbase and goodwill in the community, fans didn’t appreciate seeing their favorite fighter sitting next to the prodigal son from the Conor McGregor circle.

As soon as the photo of Pereira, his head coach, Plinio, and Dillon Danis started making rounds on the internet, fans swarmed in with requests. They began asking Pereira to take down the post, as many seemed outright disappointed to see the two-division champion posing with the controversial fighter.

Fans react to Alex Pereira’s Instagram post with Dillon Danis at UFC 322   

One fan chimed in and wrote, “Moments before disaster.” Another fan, clearly disappointed, commented, “don’t involve yourself with dillon, i like you too much.” This user definitely wasn’t happy to see his favorite UFC fighter standing next to one of the most disliked figures in MMA.

Another reaction was for Alex Pereira’s coach, who posted the photo on his Instagram account. A fan wrote, “Take the first picture down coach lol.” In the series of photos, Plinio uploaded the Danis picture first, which is why the user pleaded with the Brazilian coach to take it down, echoing the same sentiment many others had. Following that, another fan added a more assertive demand, “You still have time to delete.”

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However, one fan asked a very interesting question, “Where were u when Dillon got beat up?” That’s actually a sharp observation because Pereira hasn’t shared his side of the story or mentioned where he was when the brawl broke out. Adding to the reactions, a fan offered a sarcastic take, “Imagine wanting to jump Danis and you get met with a left from Poatan…” Well, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say nobody would’ve been eager to throw hands with ‘Poatan’ if he had been involved in the melee.

Lastly, another fan threw a much bigger request at Plinio Cruz, writing, “Uncle please teach something to @dillondanis that how to be respectful 😂” And there’s a good chance Team Pereira can’t do much when it comes to Dillon Danis and his overall demeanor.

So, as Dillon Danis keeps making headlines for clashing unexpectedly at one of the biggest events of the year, how far do you think this beef will go? Let us know in the comments section below.