Dana White Hints at Next Fight for Beneil Dariush Post UFC 262

Dominant in his latest showing in the octagon, Beneil Dariush registered his name in the consciousness of the MMA world. The monumental victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 has inserted Dariush’s name in the title contention for UFC’s lightweight division.

The future is bright for the BJJ black belt. He is currently sitting on an excellent spot in a division that is undergoing significant changes. With a new titleholder in Charles Oliveira and no clear contender announced, the race to the title is wide open. And with a win over Ferguson, Dariush has got a good head start.

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At the press conference, UFC president Dana White indicated Dariush could very well be looking at a top 5 title contender for his next fight.

“He didn’t do any favors in gaining any new fans tonight. It was a tough go against a fan favorite like Tony… [he] went in and did what he had to do to win. He’ll get another fight now. One of the top 5 guys,” White said in the UFC 262 post-event press conference.

Beneil Dariush looking to return to action by December

In the post-fight press conference, Dariush expressed that he himself was a little unsure about his immediate fighting future. “We got to see how the landscape changes in the next couple of months,” he said.

Dariush feels that the winner of the McGregor and Poirier trilogy would be a name in contention.

“Justin ‘The scary man’ Gaethje is on deck and wants blood. So he’s out there,” Dariush went on.

He further confirmed that he is looking to return to the octagon by December 2021 or sometime in the coming year.

“We just got to pay attention to who’s going to be there next for me. I am thinking who’s going to be there available for me,” he said.

Dariush currently sits on an impressive seven-fight win streak, tearing through the shark tank division of the UFC. He has been undefeated in the UFC for over three years now and has chopped through formidable opponents like Drew Dober, Carlos Diego Ferreira, among others.

Now with the name of the former interim champ Tony Ferguson added to his resume, the 32-year-old Iranian-born American fighter would be hard to deny a shot at the top of the division.

With his star now on the rise, can Dariush be the next champion of the 155ers? Let us know.

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