Reminder: Beneil Dariush is the No. 4-ranked lightweight in the world.
Beneil Dariush is somewhat of a dark horse in the lightweight division but that doesn’t mean he should be overlooked due to his lack of media exposure.
The Iranian-born mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu whizz is easily one of the most technical and well-rounded fighters in the division but doesn’t receive much of a push from the UFC due to his lack of trash-talking, opting instead to let his fists do the talking.
He also thinks his religious views and social media inactivity could factor into why he isn’t already a household name in the UFC despite being one of the top-ranked fighters in the promotion.
“I don’t know if it’s the fact that I speak so much of my faith or the fact that I’m just not very confrontational when it comes to the meetings,” Dariush, the No. 4-ranked lightweight in the world, told KRGV Sports in a recent interview (h/t MMA News). “There seems to be this approach in MMA right now on how to make fights bigger, you talk a little bit of smack, you have an altercation in the back room or something, stuff like that builds fights. You’re not really going to see me involved in stuff like that. So I think that’s the reason why you don’t see me get pushed so much.”
He continued: “Also, I’m not a big fan of social media, I try to stay away from it as much as I can. I’ll respond to people here and there. But overall, I prefer to spend my time with my family. And so all that plays into it. I understand the UFC is profit driven and maybe I’m not their ideal candidate, but I have to be honest to the person that I am, and I have to be faithful to my Creator and go forth like that. So it’s just, I get the situation. I’m not mad at anybody. I get what they need to do and I know what I need to do and that’s how I go forward.”
Dariush last fought at UFC 280 where he defeated No. 8-ranked lightweight Mateusz Gamrot via unanimous decision. He is on an eight-fight win streak, winning half of those bouts via stoppage.