Beneil Dariush talks Islam Makhachev vs Alex Volkanovski at UFC 284, claims the fight confirmed his beliefs
Beneil Dariush has spoken out about the UFC 284 matchup between Islam Makhachev and Alex Volkanovski, claiming that the fight has confirmed his beliefs about the two fighters.
At UFC 284, the highly anticipated clash between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski delivered an epic battle that exceeded all expectations. Both men gave it their all in five rounds, with Makhachev eventually emerging as the unanimous decision winner. The judges seemed to favor Makhachev's control time in the fight as the deciding factor in the outcome.
Appearing in an interview with MMAJunkie, Dariush shared his take on the super fight. The lightweight contender said that prior to the fight, he did not have much information on Makhachev outside of his fight with Tsarukyan but that Volkanovski was able to show him what the Russian fighter was lacking and the areas he could exploit if they ever happened to face-off in the octagon sometime in the future:
"I thought the fight was great. From both perspectives, um, a lot of things with Islam... Volkanovski just confirmed my beliefs cause I didn't really have tapes on him [Islam] outside of the Tsarukyan fight. But Volkanovski was just able to confirm my beliefs on what I thought his [Islam] game was lacking and what things I could take advantage of."
Check out Beneil Dariush's interview below [9:00 mark]:
Beneil Dariush speaks about not getting a shot at title contention despite an impressive fight record
Appearing in the same interview with MMAJunkie, Beneil Dariush also discussed not being offered a title shot yet. The top lightweight contender revealed that he has discussed the possibility of a title shot with top UFC officials like Dana White and Hunter Campbell, but none of them have mentioned offering him a fight against Islam Makhachev. Instead, they suggested a fight with Charles Oliveira.
Expressing his disappointment over the matter, the Iranian had this to say:
"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."
Despite the wait, Beneil Dariush remains upbeat and is committed to putting on thrilling performances until he is granted his opportunity.