Beneil Dariush stretched his winning run to six last night. The UFC lightweight contender edged past Diego Ferreira in a highly entertaining fight which earned both men an extra $50,000.
In his post-fight speech, Darisuh made a point of criticizing the UFC matchmakers who he believes treated him and his opponent unfairly by putting them together once again. Dariush already holds a unanimous decision win over Ferreira from 2014.
“I’ve got to say something, this is really bothering me,” Dariush said to Daniel Cormier. “Diego should have fought a top five guy. I should have fought a top five guy. We have tough win streaks. We fought everybody. We never say no to anybody.
“But instead of giving us a top five guy, Diego I still think he deserves a top 10 guy. I’d feel a little disrespected if I was Diego. I know I feel a little disrespected.”
The message from @beneildariush after #UFCVegas18 was simple: put some respect on his name
pic.twitter.com/9nITzAQRJn
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 7, 2021
Dariush went on to talk about the fight itself, which while comeptive was clearly a win for the Iranian-American. However, the judges saw it differently with one even scoring the fight in favour of Ferreira. Luckily that card didn’t matter as the two other judges scored the fight 29-28 to Dariush who got a very deserved win.
“I was a little surprised it was a split decision,” Dariush said. “He was the toughest guy I fought so far. I hurt him in the first round and I was trying to suffocate him in the second round. He did not care. He just kept attacking.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)
Dariush will likely crack the lightweight top 10 this coming week. It appears huge fights lay ahead for the UFC fan favourite, as only big names are now ahead of him in MMA’s most stacked and lucrative division.
Who do you think Beneil Dariush should fight next?