Beneil Dariush to Snub a Title Shot in Favor of Two Lightweight Matchups

Beneil Dariush is not content with waiting for a potential title shot at lightweight. Instead has his sights set on two former champions in his next two fights. Dariush is currently #6 in the UFC lightweight division. Moreover, a win over any two former champions would certainly solidify his place near the top of the division. While some may see this as a risky move, Dariush is confident in his abilities and believes that he can beat either of them.

This is an interesting strategy from Dariush and it will be interesting to see if he can pull off the upsets. If he does, he will be in a great position to contend for the title in the near future. The Iranian fighter fought hard to earn a unanimous decision over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280.

Moreover, he was the backup for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira. Yet he wasn’t chosen as Makhachev’s next opponent. Instead, Alexander Volkanovski was given the chance to pursue his second concurrent title. Due to this, Dariush now is keen to fight two former lightweight champions.

Beneil Dariush sets his eyes on 2 lightweight stars

Dariush, in an interview, stated that he was unaware of the organization’s plans for him. He mentioned that although he has the option to wait and fight for the belt, if Volkanovski wins and decides to defend his featherweight title, Dariush may end up waiting until 2024.

He said, “It’s not about money or guaranteeing the title shot. It’s that I want to fight the best guys in the world. I think Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira are those guys.”

The Iranian-American fighter mentioned that not being active gets quite boring for him. Moreover, Dariush believes that there is currently no one who can jump ahead of him, but his primary focus is on winning fights.

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As a result, he suggested a March timeline for a potential match against either Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira.

Dariush shares his frustrations

During the interview, Dariush admitted that the timing of the situation was frustrating and strange. However, he understood the reasoning behind the decision, as Volkanovski is considered the pound-for-pound king.

He said, “In the moment, I felt like it was definitely weird, and I was frustrated, I’ll be honest with you. I get why they did it.”

Despite appearing calm, Dariush mentioned that certain triggers could incite a violent response. After some reflection, Dariush realized that the most important thing was to focus on winning his UFC fights.

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