Beneil Dariush gives honest opinion on Khabib Nurmagomedov's expected absence from Islam Makhachev's corner
Beneil Dariush could be described as a family man and has often been pictured alongside his wife and children in UFC portraits, as well as past interviews.
With that, the lightweight contender recently commented on Khabib Nurmagomedov's decision to retire from MMA entirely to spend more time with family. Dariush stated that he "gained more respect" for 'The Eagle' for his decision to do so.
After retiring from fighting in 2020, Nurmagomedov appeared to take up a role as co-head coach of American Kickboxing Academy with Javier Mendez. 'The Eagle' was exected to be part of Islam Makhachev's corner for his first title defense at UFC 284 next weekend. However, he will no longer be present after departing the sport entirely.
Beneil Dariush was recently interviewed by Helen Yee Sports and said this about Nurmagomedov's exit:
"Was I surprised? Yes. But as far as do I agree with it? One hundred percent, I actually have more respect for Khabib for doing that. Because you spend too much time away from your family and it gets easier to get away from them. That's when things go wrong. Him spending time with his wife, his kids, this is so important."
Watch the interview below:
Islam Makhachev and Nurmagomedov are childhood friends and training partners. 'The Eagle' was the first person in the cage to embrace Makhachev after securing the lightweight title over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's decision to retire from coaching surprised the MMA community at large. Speculation about the impact Nurmagomedov's absence will have on his friend has been raised, but Javier Mendez believes that it will make no difference.
Beneil Dariush is not confident that he fights Charles Oliveira
Rumors of a clash between Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira have circulated for weeks now, with 'Do Bronx' stating that he would like to fight the No.4 ranked lightweight in March or April.
Dariush, however, is not as confident as the Brazilian. During a recent interview with The Schmo, he stated that he was doubtful the fight would happen due to past events.
Beneil Dariush said:
"We were supposed to fight before. He said he had some issues, then he got re-booked with Tony Ferguson. I'm not super confident the fight will happen... When they said Charles [Oliveira] I was like , 'Sure.' But now I feel like [the UFC] are gonna make me wait and then I might not even get that fight. I'm not super confident."
Watch the video below: