Beneil Dariush talks UFC top brass’s aversion to offering him a title shot
UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush has expressed his frustrations with the UFC top brass's aversion to offering him a title shot.
In an interview with MMAJunkie, Dariush revealed that he has talked to top UFC officials, including Dana White, Hunter Campbell, and Sean Shelby, and they have never mentioned offering him a fight with Islam Makhachev. Instead, they brought up a fight with Charles Oliveira.
'Benny' said:
"The UFC would have to offer me that [lightweight championship] opportunity, right? The UFC would have to say, hey, we want you to fight him [Islam Makhachev] in July. Because, like, I have sat down with Dana, Hunter, Sean Shelby, [and]I have talked to all of them. Never have they mentioned, 'oh let's do Islam.' The first thing they brought up was Charles, which is fine I get it... but I was hoping to fight Charles, let's say February, [or] March, so right around this time and then we could have done July against Makhachev... that was my ideal situation."
Beneil Dariush is still searching for his opportunity to break into the title picture. Despite his impressive record and hard work inside the cage, Dariush is yet to be given the chance to compete for the title. However, the Iranian-born fighter is determined not to let the "politics" of the sport get to him as he continues to focus on the fights in front of him:
"The issue is, you know, If I do let it get to me, it's gonna dig deep. You know, it's one of those things... it's gonna dig deep and then it's gonna slowly, like turn me rotten from the inside, you know. I'm gonna start hating the game, and I'm gonna start hating MMA and uh, that's the last thing I want. I love fighting,"
Despite the wait, Dariush remains positive and is focused on continuing to put on exciting fights until he is given his chance at the title.
Check out Dariush's comments on the matter in the video below [starting at 2:00 mark]:
Beneil Dariush explains why he refrains from trash talk against his opponents
Beneil Dariush has revealed his reasoning behind refraining from trash talk against his opponents. In an interview, the 32-year-old fighter shared that he is aware of the example he sets for his children and does not want to be seen as a hypocrite.
Appearing on Michael Bisping's podcast, Dariush had this to say:
"One day, I will be retired, and the only people who are going to look back at my career are my kids. Last thing I need them to see is that I acted like a**, and then they’re like, well, you know, you always tell us to act this way, but why were you acting like that? The last thing I need is my kids to call me a hypocrite.”
Check out Beneil Dariush speak to Michael Bisping in the video below: