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Dillon Danis and Logan Paul sucked up a lot of attention last year on route to their embarrassing contest at Misfits Boxing’s The Prime Card. Since then, both have been battling unrelated legal woes which could cost them a lot of the money they made with their sham fight. You can read about those below along with some other stories that involve combat sports and crime.
This week there are tales of narcos, poisoners and fighters accused of doing some very silly things. There’s also a positive story in the mix, too, involving the UFC’s Amanda Ribas.
Dillon Danis still in deep legal trouble
To sell his fight against Logan Paul last year Dillon Danis thought it would be a genius idea to relentlessly malign Paul’s fiancee Nina Agdal online. Danis’ constant trolling was based around the concept that Agdal had past relationships before she met Paul and that this somehow made her a less valuable partner and made Paul a less impressive person. A line of logic that barely holds up on the schoolyard, I know.
Danis’ online posts resulted in Agdal filing a restraining order and a lawsuit against Danis. The lawsuit accused him of harassment and sharing materials that were stolen from her personal social media accounts and devices.
Danis provided a brief update on the lawsuit online, suggesting that we are a long way form this case being over.
Danis, once a star of BJJ and a promising fighter in Bellator MMA, seems to have burned most his bridges in pro combat sports. His online antics in 2023 helped his notoriety bloom, but that may have come at a cost that he’ll never pay off.
Logan Paul is trying to prevent himself getting sued
Danis’ nemesis Logan Paul is also in trouble and is hoping to avoid a lawsuit of his own. Paul’s issues have nothing to do with Danis, though, or combat sports. His involves an NFT project he was apart of called CryptoZoo.
CryptoZoo promised to be an NFT based video game where users could purchase NFTs for use in the game. The project was announced in 2021 and took in millions of dollars in NFT sales. However the game never materialized.
Leading crypto-scam buster Coffeezilla broke down this case on his YouTube channel:
After Coffeezilla, and others, began raising red flags over CryptoZoo (and the fact Paul had quietly stopped promoting it), Paul released a public apology and promised to make things right.
His attempt to make things right includes a buy-back-program where he pledged to spend $2.3 million of his own money to purchase NFTs from those who bought them as part of the CryptoZoo project.
However, that program comes with a caveat. To get back your money you must promise not to sue Paul (per BBC).
Paul’s buy-back program also promised to refund buyers 0.1 Ether (the amount of cryptocurrency that was spent to buy the original NFTs). However, the value of Ether has dropped by almost 40% since those buyers bought their NFTs.
People have until February 8 to participate in the buy-back program.
Amanda Ribas puts her bonus money to good cause
Now let’s talk about someone who is actually trying to ‘make things right’ and seems to care more about her community than making herself as rich as possible.
This week Amanda Ribas spoke with MMA Junkie and discussed how she plans to use her pay from fighting in the UFC (specifically her bonus money) to help alleviate social problems in her hometown of Varginha in southeastern Brazil.
“Here, in front of my gym, there is a space where I will do my project,” said Ribas pointing to a space in front of the Ribas Family Gym. “Some kids, they have parents using drugs or in jail or they don’t have parents… I wanted to be [like] my dad or my mom. They don’t have this. Who are their idols? Who do they put in their mind and wonder, when I grow up I want to be like this guy? The bad guy in the street who sells drugs?
“And I want to put this institution here, this gym, because they can look at me and say, ‘Hmm, I want to be like Amanda Ribas, who is from here—Varginha—who trained here in my neighbourhood and she conquered the world. And she bought a gym, she bought a house, everything with a good vibe and even if the children won’t be athletes, if these children come her and study and do something to get focused, to get disciplined, they will be a good person in the future.”
Ribas currently has two post fight bonuses to her name, the most recent of which was earned in her fight with Luana Pinheiro at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs. Craig. She scooped her Performance of the Night award there with a sensational spinning wheel kick finish. Prior to this she earned a Fight of the Night bonus for her fight with Katlyn Chookagian in 2022.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. arrested for alleged ‘ghost gun’ possession
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was arrested in Los Angeles this week on suspicion of possessing an illegal firearm. The firearm is question is an untraceable “ghost gun” assault rifle, per police sources who spoke to TMZ.
Chavez Jr. was arrested at his home after a concerned fan called police and claimed they believed Chavez Jr. may have been a danger to himself or others.
The 37-year-old Chavez Jr. fought UFC legend Anderson Silva in 2021. Chavez Jr. missed weight for that bout and lost via split decision. Later that year he defeated David Zegarra via unanimous decision to improve his pro record to 53-6-1 (1 NC).
Chavez Jr. is a former WBC middleweight champion. He is the son of boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez, who held world titles at super featherweight, lightweight and light welterweight.
Crime Blotter
Kung Fu coaches sentenced to death in poisoning case
Fu Zejie and Zhu Zulin, kung fu coaches from China’s Anhui Province, were sentenced to death this week. A court handed down the sentence after finding the men guilty of a poisoning that resulted in the deaths of seven children. The pair were accused of planting rat poison in the food at a martial arts school after a dispute with their boss. (full story)
PFL and KSW vet accused of being a drug mule
Przemyslaw Mysiala, who has fought in KSW, PFL and Bellator, was found guilty of trafficking drugs in to the UK this week. The 41-year-old is likely to receive a long prison sentence after two kilos of cocaine were found in his vehicle. (full story)
Jarrell Miller accused of bodyslamming man at car dealership
Two weeks after losing to Daniel Dubois on the Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder card in Saudi Arabia, Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller has been arrested on suspicion of carjacking and burglary in Florida. That incident reportedly including Miller allegedly bodyslamming a car dealership employee before peeling away in a recently repossessed car. (full story)
Palate Cleanser
In addition to working at Bloody Elbow, I’m also a social worker in training. Currently I’m doing lots of classes, readings, assignments etc. on things which are not very nice (sexual assault, family violence, child abuse, etc.). When I’m working on those I like to play lo-fi in an attempt to make the area around me feel calm and, frankly, safe. Here’s my current go-to vid for that:
Survivors of sexual assault can find support via the following organizations:
US – Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)’s National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). RAINN also has an online chat service.
Love is Respect, 1-866-331-9474. They can also be reached via online chat or by texting LOVEIS to 22522.
End Rape on Campus (EROC), 1-424-777-EROC (3762).
Canada – Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, 1-877-232-2610.
UK – UK Says No More.
Rest of the World – International Rape Crisis Hotlines.
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