Seeing his stunning eight-fight winning run halted over the course of last weekend in his UFC 289 title eliminator with former division champion, Charles Oliveira, Kings MMA staple, Beneil Dariush insists he will still clinch gold in the division.
Dariush, the current #5 ranked lightweight contender, returned to the Octagon last weekend in the co-main event of UFC 289 in Vancouver, Canada, suffering a stunning first round TKO loss to former champion, Oliveira, finding himself on the receiving end of a barrage of ground strikes.
Seeing his eight-fight winning run come to a crashing halt against the Sao Paulo finisher, Dariush had positioned himself in the lightweight title-eliminator off the back of a massive run through the ranks, taking out former duel-weight KSW champion, Mateusz Gamrot in a one-sided unanimous decision win at UFC 280 back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Beneil Dariush eyes quick return following UFC 289 loss to Charles Oliveira
Remaining upbeat despite his stoppage loss to Oliveira, Dariush claimed that despite the blemish – he would eventually mint himself as a champion under the banner of the organization.
“I had my moment in the shower where I was just super sad on the on the verge of tears,” Beneil Dariush told Submission Radio during a recent interview. “But then I got out of the shower, looked at my family, grabbed my two daughters, and I walked out like I’m gonna live to fight another day and I’ll become a champion another day. It won’t be today.”
Eyeing a quickfire return to the Octagon before the close of this annum, Iranian-born grappler, Dariush claimed he wanted to remain active and had no interest in a sidelining until 2024.
“At this point, I just need to know that I’m healthy and I can get back inside that Octagon,” Beneil Dariush explained. “Man, please, before the end of the year. Like, I don’t wanna have to wait until next year to fight, ‘cause it’s been so slow for me to get fights. So ideally, I would like to fight before the end of the year.”