Beneil Dariush is on the verge of his first UFC championship alternative, but it surely feels like ready for it isn’t an choice.
Having earned a unanimous decision over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 this previous October, Dariush thought his subsequent struggle needs to be for the the light-weight belt. In any case, he was supposedly tapped to serve as the backup for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, which may have secured him a struggle with the winner.
Nevertheless, as soon as Makhachev defeated Oliveira, his subsequent opponent was revealed—and it was not the longtime Kings MMA expertise. Coming into the Octagon to have a face-off with the newly topped champion as an alternative is Alexander Volkanovski, who the UFC gave the go-ahead to pursue his second concurrent title. Once Makhachev vs. Volkanovski was scheduled, Dariush discovered himself on the skin of the title image.
“Within the second, I felt prefer it was undoubtedly bizarre, and I used to be annoyed, I’ll be sincere with you,” mentioned Dariush in an interview with UFC.com. “I get why they did it. Volkanovski is the pound-for-pound king, however the timing was horrible for me. I appear very cool-headed, however for those who push the proper buttons or say the proper issues, I’ll in all probability attempt to take your head off proper there. So, after I came upon the information and I cooled off, I mentioned to myself, ‘What distinction does it make? I simply need to win my fights.’ It was all good and look how nicely it turned out.”
For his subsequent struggle, there are a couple of choices for Dariush to contemplate. He may both look ahead to the winner of Makhachev vs. Volkanovski or get paired towards a fellow top-five contender.
Of the 2 choices, Dariush would favor the latter.
“I don’t know what UFC’s gameplan is for me,” mentioned Dariush. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to struggle for that belt. I’ve the choice of ready and preventing the winner, but when Volkanovski wins and decides to defend his featherweight belt, I’d find yourself ready a complete 12 months and perhaps I find yourself preventing in 2024. I don’t assume there’s anyone who can soar in entrance of me proper now, however my job is profitable fights, so let’s struggle Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira. March is an effective timetable for me.
“I like preventing,” continued Dariush. “I get bored not preventing. I get bored not making ready for an opponent. That is my job and I wish to do it. That’s it. It’s not about cash or guaranteeing the title shot, it’s that I wish to struggle the perfect guys on the planet. I believe Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira are these guys.”
Poirier and Oliveira are above Dariush within the official rankings.
