Getty Beneil Dariush
Beneil Dariush claims that despite his impressive eight-fight winning streak, the UFC still doesn’t consider him the No.1 contender for the lightweight title and that “there are people ahead of me,” including Dustin Poirier.
Dariush tried to negotiate a title shot with Islam Makhachev after losing his co-main spot at UFC 288 with Charles Oliveira on May 6. The American-Iranian fighter admitted he was ready to “flip a table” when informed of his position on the ladder.
Beneil Dariush Vents: ‘I Was About to Flip a Table’
During an interview with “The Schmo” on April 17, Dariush addressed his frustrations with the UFC.
“This feels like the third or fourth time [with Oliveira]. I’m just frustrated at this point. So I go in [to the UFC] and I basically say to them, ‘Hey [if Oliveira can’t fight], let me fight Makhachev in July or August’, but they’re like ‘No. We have to save Makhachev for October for the [UFC 294] Abu Dhabi card.’
“I was like ‘OK,'” Dariush said. “I don’t really want to wait until October, but I still want to fight for the belt, right? So I say, ‘OK, why don’t I get him in October then?’ And basically the way they put it is like, I’m not the No. 1 contender. They said there’s people ahead of me, and they specifically pointed out Dustin Poirier.
“At that point, I was about to flip a table. I was about to take Justin Gaethje‘s advice. He said, ‘If Dariush doesn’t get the title shot we riot,’ and I was very close to that.”
Arman Tsarukyan Called to Replace Oliveira at UFC 288
Top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan used Twitter to put his name forward as a replacement opponent for Dariush at UFC 288.
“You know there’s no reason to postpone it, I’m just right here [Dariush],” Tsarukyan tweeted.
Dariush also addressed Tsarukyan in his interview with “The Schmo.”
“Even before they offered [Oliveira], I said, ‘Hey, Tsarukyan is fighting [Renato Moicano]’ — I didn’t know Moicano was hurt — ‘Why don’t we toss in Tsarukyan into May 6 with me and find somebody else for Moicano?’ and they kind of looked at me [in a shocked expression],” Dariush said, with wide eyes.
“My manager [Ali Abdelaziz] was so pissed, man. He’s like ‘Hey, the whole point was to get you to fight somebody ahead of you.’ And so I do that, and basically, they say no to that too.”
Tsarukyan replied to Dariush with a tweet: “Respect to [Dariush] for accepting the fight with me on May 6th. Sucks UFC didn’t want to do it. Hopefully we meet in the future.”
Respect to @beneildariush for accepting the fight with me on May 6th. Sucks ufc didn’t want to do it. Hopefully we meet in the future ✊🏼
To which Dariush replied, “I’m sure we’ll meet in the near future. All the best.”
@ArmanUfc I’m sure we’ll meet in the near future. All the best.
‘If We’re Talking About Merit, There’s Nobody Else’: Dariush at UFC 280
Following his victory over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280 in October 2022, Dariush appeared at the post-fight presser, telling MMAFighting, “Here’s the thing, I’m not going anywhere. I will beat down whoever I need to beat down and they can circle that belt around me all they want.
They can try to avoid me all they want. But my day will come and what God has planned no one will stop.
If [this fight didn’t merit a title shot], what else can I do? If that performance — beating a guy like Gamrot — if that’s not a proper way to ask, I need somebody to tell me how I should be asking [for a shot]. How I’m doing this wrong? If we’re talking about merit, I don’t think there’s anybody else.”