NYC Mayor Eric Adams is insisting that the fight‑night melee at Madison Square Garden can’t simply slide past the courts.
In a post on X on Monday, the mayor declared that everyone tied to the clash between Dillon Danis and the crew of UFC welter‑weight champion Islam Makhachev would face accountability.
“These assaults at Madison Square Garden are completely unacceptable,” Adams wrote. “The NYPD is already conducting a full investigation, and everyone responsible will be held accountable.”
UFC chief Dana White later said Danis would be barred from future events for his role in the altering, but he chose not to file charges. He explained at the post‑event press briefing:
“So they called me from downstairs and they said, ‘We got him down here. Do you want to press charges and have him arrested?’ And I said, no, we don’t want to press charges. It’s the fight business, man.”
Despite the UFC’s decision, the mayor appears determined to press the issue, especially now that the promotion has wrapped up and left the arena.
The brawl erupted on the arena floor just as NYPD officers and venue security rushed to restore order amid the chaos.
The scuffle stemmed from a long‑standing grudge: Danis had recently targeted Makhachev’s team on social media, and the interference—including AI‑edited clips that showed Makhachev kissing a teammate’s agent—pushed tempers to a breaking point. Coach Javier Méndez, who works with Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov, told Submission Radio that those videos were the final straw.
After the melee subsided, Danis was moved to a holding cell inside Madison Square Garden’s depths.
This isn’t the first time law enforcement has been thrust into Stormy‑arena drama. Back in 2018, following a press event for UFC 223 at Barclays Center, Conor McGregor was arrested on three misdemeanor assault charges and one felony for throwing a dolly through a bus window that housed UFC fighters. He later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and completed community service.
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