Bouncer who choked Dillon Danis: He was ‘a little agitated’ I’d never heard of him

(Editor’s note: Updated at 1:35 p.m. ET after Chance the bouncer responded to MMA Junkie with his age and more background information.)

When Bellator fighter Dillon Danis couldn’t get into a bar because he didn’t have any identification on him, he tried to Google his way in. When that didn’t work, things got out of hand.

Danis, a longtime friend and training partner of Conor McGregor, was arrested last weekend outside a bar in Seaside Heights, N.J. Danis was charged with disorderly conduct after he allegedly “created a disturbance” leading to his arrest.

Perhaps more embarrassing for Danis is the eyewitness video that emerged showing the decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt tapping out to what appeared to be a rear-naked choke applied by a security guard. That security guard’s name is Chance, the bouncer last Saturday night at the Beach Comber Bar and Grill, who told MMA Junkie that he prefers to only go by his first name.

Chance, 23, has been a bouncer for two years. He explained what happened during an interview on the “Call Me Al Show” with Al Iaquinta.

Chance said he’d already caught two people from a wedding party using fake IDs to try and get into the bar earlier in the night. When Danis and three of his friends showed up around midnight, Chance asked to see their IDs before letting them in. The friends complied, but Danis told him he didn’t have his ID with him.

“I’m like, ‘Sorry, bro, you’re not getting in. I need an ID.’ And then he says, ‘Oh, you don’t know who I am?'” Chance recalled. “And I was like, ‘Sorry, dude, I don’t know who you are. I need an ID.’ So then he Googles himself and shows me the Google page, and I’m like, ‘That’s not an ID, bro. I need a driver’s license, passport, something so I know how old you are.’ After that he started getting a little agitated or whatever that I didn’t know who he was and stuff.”

Chance said another bouncer approached the situation. He repeated to Danis that he would not be let in without an ID and suggested that he leave the property. That’s when things escalated even further, Chance said, with Danis taking a step toward the other bouncer, prompting him to put his hand on Danis’ chest and warning him not to get too close.

“That’s when (Danis) is like, ‘Don’t touch me, don’t touch me,’ blah, blah,” Chance said. “While they’re having their whole conversation, I walk behind these guys. And that’s when Dillon tried to throw a punch.”

Chance laughed when he mentioned the punch thrown by Danis.

“It wasn’t a great punch,” Chance said. “He tried throwing a punch, missed it, and that’s when I grabbed him by his neck, pulled him down.

“Usually whenever I do that, I’m legitimately choking you out for a second or two until you realize the situation you’re in. In the video, you see him tap and everything, and I was like, ‘You all right, man? You good?’ And he gives me like a little thumbs up, so I just bear-hugged him a little bit until the cops got everybody else under control and could give me a hand.”

Another eyewitness video began with Danis struggling while being handcuffed, lifted off the ground and taken away by a uniformed police officer.

Chance said he’s been taken aback by the response on social media. In a way, he seemed to feel bad for the flak Danis, a former BJJ world champion, has taken since he was subdued and controlled on the ground by a security guard. But it’s at least worth noting that Chance said he’s trained in Krav Maga and Russian Systema in the Ukraine. There’s also a significant size difference between him and Danis, a welterweight.

“I’m 6-foot, 275 pounds,” Chance said. “If I drop you to the ground and I’m holding you, it’s gonna be hard to get out of it.”

Danis, who’s 2-0 with two submissions in his professional MMA career, hasn’t fought since June 2019. He had been scheduled to fight in January 2020 at Bellator 238, but he withdrew from the card after injuring his knee while helping McGregor prepare for his UFC 246 fight against Donald Cerrone. Danis underwent reconstructive surgery in March 2020.

In the arrest video, Danis can be seen wearing a brace on his right leg. It’s unclear if the brace was on his originally injured leg or if he suffered a new injury.