Beneil Dariush expects the UFC to deny him a title shot even if he beats Charles Oliveira
Beneil Dariush believes he might not get a title shot by beating Charles Oliveira.
Dariush last fought against Mateusz Gamrot in October. The number four-ranked lightweight is now waiting for another ranked opponent, hoping to secure a title shot after winning once more.
During an interview with The Schmo, ‘Benny’ discussed how Dustin Poirier doesn’t want to fight, but the UFC offered him a matchup against Oliveira. He had this to say:
“Can we do February? And then they said, yeah, ok, we will do February. February turned into March. March turned into April, and now they are talking about May… I think I might get passed up again. After I beat Charles Oliveira, what I think could happen is, since we’re waiting so long, they’ll set up Islam [Makhachev] with someone else, or Volkanovski… I get the UFC is not a huge fan of me.”
Oliveira is coming off a loss against Islam Makahchev, where he lost his UFC lightweight championship. The Brazilian is motivated to get right back into the mix and take out a top-five opponent. The question is, can Dariush and the UFC get on the same page?
Watch Beneil Dariush discuss what's next below:
Beneil Dariush reveals he’s recovering from a torn MCL
Beneil Dariush has been practically begging for a top-five opponent, but one thing is holding him back. The 33-year-old suffered a torn MCL before fighting Mateusz Gamrot and found out after winning at UFC 280. During the same interview with The Schmo, Dariush had this to say about missing out on an opportunity to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 283 because of his injury:
“Here’s the thing I’ve been having with Charles [Oliveira]. The UFC originally was like, hey, what do you think about fighting him in Brazil, which was like a couple of weeks ago or last week, I don’t know. And I was like, can I get a little bit more time? It turns out my MCL was torn. I didn’t know it was that bad…”
Dariush can’t seem to catch a break. The 33-year-old has won his last eight UFC fights, but he's struggling to secure a lightweight title shot. The Kings MMA fighter plans to continue working hard and defeating ranked opponents until he’s undeniably the number one contender. Despite his concerns, Oliveira could be the last win ‘Benny’ needs before fighting for the 155-pound throne.
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