"This old dog wants to stay on top" - Beneil Dariush talks about his motivation to beat the upcoming generation of lightweight fighters in the UFC
Beneil Dariush picked up a unanimous decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280. The No.4-ranked lightweight recently shared that he is still motivated to defeat the upcoming generation of UFC lightweights.
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Speaking to Marc Raimondi of ESPN MMA, Dariush stated:
"This new generation that's coming up, I want to beat them all. There's a lot of top, top dogs - these guys are good. They're good everywhere too. They're coming up and they're going to be difficult, they're going to be very difficult. This old dog wants to stay on top so I'm excited for that. That's one of the things I'm most excited about."
Dariush added that the new generation of fighters are "nice guys" and that the talent they possess makes the division all the more exciting:
"All these guys... I like them, if we were in the same gym, we would be probably very close friends. Seeing them fight, I actually get inspired so I want to fight all these guys. They're very nice guys, all of them, they're gentlemen... The lightweight division, as far as talent goes, it's just getting more exciting."
Dariush listed Arman Tsarukyan, Damir Ismagulov, and a five-round rematch against Mateusz Gamrot as up-and-coming lightweight matchups that he would like to be a part of.
Watch Beneil Dariush discuss his desire to face the next generation of lightweights below (starting at the 13:55 mark):
Beneil Dariush is targeting a top-five opponent
Ideally, Beneil Dariush's UFC 280 victory over Mateusz Gamrot should have earned him the opportunity to be lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's first title defense. The No.4-ranked lightweight is aware, however, that featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will likely earn that opportunity as he chases double champ status. Dariush shared that he is now targeting a top-five opponent as he awaits his title opportunity.
When asked about potentially fighting former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, Dariush responded:
"That fight makes sense, I think Charles makes sense. I don't think Poirier or Chandler are going to want to fight after they fight. They normally take their time. I don't know if Oliveira is going to want to fight in February. I think anybody in the top-five makes sense, but they also are going to have to want to fight me."
Beneil Dariush revealed that his coaches and management want him to wait until he receives a title opportunity. While there is a risk in taking a fight, he stated that his enjoyment and passion for fighting will likely prevent him from waiting for the winner of the fight between Makhachev and Volkanovski.