Beneil Dariush is on the verge of his first UFC championship alternative, but it surely appears like ready for it isn’t an possibility.
Having earned a unanimous choice over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 this previous October, Dariush thought his subsequent combat must be for the the light-weight belt. In any case, he was supposedly tapped to function the backup for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, which might have secured him a combat with the winner.
Nonetheless, as soon as Makhachev defeated Oliveira, his subsequent opponent was revealed—and it was not the longtime Kings MMA expertise. Getting into the Octagon to have a face-off with the newly topped champion as a substitute is Alexander Volkanovski, who the UFC gave the go-ahead to pursue his second concurrent title. As soon as Makhachev vs. Volkanovski was scheduled, Dariush discovered himself on the skin of the title image.
“Within the second, I felt prefer it was positively bizarre, and I used to be annoyed, I’ll be sincere with you,” stated 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 when you push the best buttons or say the best issues, I’ll in all probability attempt to take your head off proper there. So, after I discovered the information and I cooled off, I stated 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 combat, there are a number of choices for Dariush to contemplate. He might both watch for 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,” stated Dariush. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to combat 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 would find yourself ready an entire 12 months and possibly I find yourself preventing in 2024. I don’t suppose there’s anyone who can leap in entrance of me proper now, however my job is profitable fights, so let’s combat Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira. March is an efficient timetable for me.
“I like preventing,” continued Dariush. “I get bored not preventing. I get bored not getting ready for an opponent. That is my job and I need to do it. That’s it. It’s not about cash or guaranteeing the title shot, it’s that I need to combat the most effective guys on this planet. I believe Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira are these guys.”
Poirier and Oliveira are above Dariush within the official rankings.
