Dillon Danis was DISQUALIFIED from his fight with Logan Paul after attempting to choke out his rival in the final round.
There was intrigue like very few fights before for what was about to happen in the night's first headline bout, with few believing Danis would even make the walk all the way to fight night. But with stars such as Tyson Fury, Eddie Hearn, Roman Kemp and more watching on, the MMA star managed to stay on his feet for the entirety of the fight.
But right at the end, as Danis went for his promised takedown, chaos ensued with the pair's teams running into the ring to get in between a brawl. Paul was announced as having won the first five rounds, but the official decision was a disqualification to hand him his first boxing win. He didn't appear to be particularly disappointed after the fact, celebrating as if he had won the fight legitimately. In his post-fight interview he branded Danis "the devil", and mocked him for not following through on his jiu-jitsu.
Paul's fiancee Nina Agdal did attend despite her Temporary Restraining Order against Danis, which was granted in a New Jersey court last month. She is locked in a lawsuit with the MMA fighter after he relentlessly fired vitriol at her during the pre-fight build-up, more than doubling his social media following and drawing over 2.5billion impressions.
Danis forced Paul to walk first, and left his opponent waiting as he walked from his dressing room via a different route than the standard ring walk stage. Paul was flanked by his brother Jake Paul as well as Danis' long-time jiu-jitsu rival Gordon Ryan as he emerged, before fans loudly booed the American national anthem.
Robbie Williams poised to launch his own brand of energy drinks to rival PrimeThe pair were forced to touch gloves by the referee before the fight, as Danis emerged with his hands high and actually competing. Paul took control of the pace early as Danis taunted him from behind a high guard, with the YouTube star unloading combinations at will, even though they weren't particularly damaging.
Paul was visibly opened up over his right eye as a result of a pre-fight scuffle at the press conference, but the pair headed to the second round with neither man landing anything of note. Danis had insisted ahead of time that Paul would tire in the later rounds, and he attempted to prove that theory by throwing nothing at all early, defending for his life.
But minutes into the second, Paul managed to rock his rival, and went for the kill with a combination in the corner that had the referee taking a look. Danis' perseverance took him into the third, at which point he began to tire as Danis finally opened up a little bit, throwing unimpressive punches.
And Danis even laid on the ground a la Nick Diaz against Anderson Silva, inviting Paul into his famous jiu-jitsu guard much to the annoyance of the referee who opted not to dock him a point or score a knockdown. The fight lingered on to the fourth with Paul looking unimpressive as he failed to capitalise on his forward pressure.
Danis finally got aggressive at the start of the fourth, but reverted to type as Paul showed no ability to impose his will with any power shots. Right at the end of the round, the jiu-jitsu expert appeared to lock in a guillotine as he had threatened, but was unable to render his rival unconscious.
The fifth was similarly uneventful, before Paul began to fire off shots in the sixth, and Danis went for the takedown he had promised in the lead-up. This led to carnage in the ring as security teams had to separate the pair before the final bell had rung.
The packed undercard delivered in a major way, with knockouts aplenty and firey action from start to finish. Salt Papi was stopped in an unbelievable come-from-behind victory by Slim Albaher, while Deen The Great solidified his status as lightweight's best with a massive decision win over rival Walid Sharks.
Former Paul sparring partner and Tommy Fury opponent Anthony Taylor won Misfits Boxing gold when he defeated King Kenny in a brilliant workman-like showing. And Brazilian superstar Whindersson Nunes was defeated by Thai influencer My Mate Nate in a disappointing outing for both he and the promotion's hope of a homecoming next year.
Perhaps the most outlandish part of the evening was a tag team fight pitting Alex Wassabi and Nich Lmao against BDave and Luis Pineda. The bout somehow ended in a draw with both sides going back-and-forth and landing knockdowns in one of the more entertaining parts of the night.
The prelims saw a stunning knockout by late-notice replacement Ed Matthews over Swarmz within seconds, after Astrid Wett had retained her women's flyweight belt against Alexia Grace in an end to their bitter feud. The night began with a battle of rappers as S-X and DTG battled it out, with DTG landing a first round stoppage.
Ten YouTube boxing fights we must see in 2023 including KSI vs Jake PaulThere was controversy in the heavyweight title fight as Chase DeMoor's seemingly comfortable performance against Tempo Arts wasn't enough to win the split decision. Misfits also announced their return to London on November 17 at York Hall.