NYC mayor vows to punish brawlers at UFC 322
Brett OkamotoNov 25, 2025, 04:04 PM ET Close Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather,…
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Brett Okamoto
New York City mayor Eric Adams intends to legally address the brawl that took place at UFC 322 earlier this month inside Madison Square Garden.
On Monday, Adams shared video footage of the brawl that included Dillon Danis, a former teammate of UFC star Conor McGregor, and several teammates of UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. The brawl took place on the arena floor, moments before the UFC 322 main card on Nov. 15. Makhachev (28-1) headlined the event and won the welterweight championship over Jack Della Maddalena.
The UFC tends to move on from “backstage” altercations between athletes rather quickly, but Adams made it clear the city itself will take a closer look at what happened.
“These assaults at Madison Square Garden are completely unacceptable,” Adams stated on X. “The NYPD is already conducting a full investigation, and everyone responsible will be held accountable.”
At the UFC 322 postfight news conference on Nov. 15, UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion was placing a permanent “ban” on Danis for future UFC events. Danis has a history of public altercations and had posted disparaging comments and photos — some of which were fake — about Makhachev online in the days leading up to UFC 322.
Multiple videos showed that Makhachev’s teammates Magomed ‘Chanco’ Zaynukov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov were involved in the incident, including throwing punches at the back of Danis’ head. Danis was immediately led out of the arena by security. Makhachev’s teammates were also removed and watched his world title performance off-site. The animosity between Danis and Makhachev’s team dates all the way to 2017, when McGregor challenged Makhachev’s mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, for the UFC’s lightweight championship.
“When you talk about someone for the last five years, when you meet them, you have to answer for what you said,” Makhachev said on the night of the brawl.
