UFC accused of being biased in ranking decisions - "The entertainment part is a much bigger factor"
Beneil Dariush recently accused the UFC of being biased with their rankings.
Dariush is on an eight-fight winning streak and still finds himself at the No.4 spot in the lightweight rankings behind the likes of Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, the 34-year-old spoke about how he feels he should be higher up in the rankings. Claiming that the entertainment side of the sport plays a major factor in fighters' rankings, Dariush said:
“At this point, I really believe the entertainment part is a much bigger factor than rankings. The rankings can be moved based on your entertainment value. That part sucks, but I also understand it’s a business, and in order for a business to continue, it has to be profitable. That’s what the UFC is doing.”
Despite being ranked No.4 in the division, Beneil Dariush can land himself a title shot with a win in his upcoming fight. He is set to take on former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira this weekend at UFC 289, with a shot at Islam Makhchev's 155-pound throne up for grabs.
Beneil Dariush speaks about Conor McGregor potentially returning to UFC's lightweight division
Conor McGregor is slated to return to the octagon later this year against Michael Chandler. While his recent bulk has cast doubts over which weight class he'll compete in, Beneil Dariush believes that the Irishman could still return to the lightweight division, where he was once a champion.
Speaking about McGregor's potential return to lightweight, Dariush expressed his concerns about the "logjam" that comes along with it in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, wherein he said:
"As far as him re-entering the lightweight division, I understand it's great. It's great, we get more eyes on us. What I don't like is how slow things start to move. Because everybody wants to fight him and everybody is willing to sit out and wait for him. And if he does win and let's say he wants to fight for the title, they'll wait, you know. They'll push things back and they'll make things take forever. So I see the benefits of Conor coming back but the negatives I think for me personally outweighs it. Because it just slows things down and you get such a logjam."
Catch Beneil Dariush's comments below (17:04):