Beneil Dariush considers himself one of the most even-tempered fighters on the entire UFC roster. However, he has been expressing frustration at Charles Oliveira’s ex-lightweight champion.
His issues with Oliveira go back almost two years. He was given the opportunity to fight the Brazilian, and he accepted it. However, the matchup fell apart days later. Oliveira was told that he had problems with his family and would not be able to compete at the time. A few weeks later “Do Bronx”, however, accepted a fight against Tony Ferguson.
Fast forward to present day, and Dariush is riding a seven-fight winning streak, which has propelled him near the top of the lightweight rankings. Yet he rarely ever hears Oliveira mention his name when asked about potential opposition. To exacerbate matters, Oliveira was recently stripped of the UFC lightweight title after missing weight and is now considered the No. 1 contender of the division.
Lately, Oliveira has spent more time calling for a fight against Conor McGregor than considering a showdown against Dariush.
“He’s talking about wanting to fight Conor, and he talks about how these guys never gave him a shot when he was outside the top five, blah, blah, blah,” Dariush said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. The Writer. If you would like to see a photo of my fight contract, please let me know. Charles was my opponent, but he withdrew from the fight and, two months later, Tony Ferguson fought him instead. He said something about family issues and I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, he didn’t fight me, I can’t believe it.’ Family comes first, I understand that. But the same thing people did to him, he’s doing to me.
“He had been supposed to fight me but he bailed and ran, then fought Tony Ferguson. He wants to fight Conor, not actual competitors. He wants to go fight Nate Diaz? This is hypocritical. It’s the only thing bothering me .”
McGregor is currently recovering from a broken leg suffered in his previous outing against Dustin Poirier in early 2021. There’s been no definitive timeline set for his return to action.
McGregor is just 1-3 in his past four appearances. His resume seems unlikely to make him a candidate for a return to the sport’s best lightweight. Oliveira is chasing after the fight, and Dariush gets annoyed at him.
” I understand that the media and the UFC have their things, but it is extremely frustrating for the man to chase a unicorn.” he stated. There are two strong contenders and now you want to be a unicorn hunter. No one knows when Conor is going to fight again. The guy might not even fight this year. Make it make sense. It doesn’t make any sense .”
When Oliveira first mentioned McGregor following his win at UFC 274, fellow lightweight Islam Makhachev scoffed at the suggestion and countered he was the rightful challenger for the vacant title. Oliveira quickly rejected Makhachev’s request and ordered him to continue with the fight against Dariush in order to decide who will be the next title challenger. The fight was originally scheduled for February, but Dariush suffered an injury that forced him to pull out.
If the UFC asks, Dariush has no problem accepting the Makhachev rematch. But he also wonders if Oliveira is attempting to make the matchup happen so he can ultimately avoid one of them.
“Logically, it makes sense,” Dariush said. I don’t know what else is. We don’t even know our names. As far as fights are concerned, I have never heard him mention my name. Because I was injured, this would not be happening. I am frustrated. It adds another layer to the frustration. But it’s possible that he wants one of us to knock the other person out so he only has to deal with one person.
” I think stylistically that [we are the toughest matchups for Oliveira]. is correct. Because if you look at the Kevin Lee fight, Kevin Lee was not doing that well with Charles but he did his best work against him on the ground, when he stayed on top. He may have been able to win one round just by being the top and holding Charles down for a round. Kevin is not to be disrespected, but Kevin does not have the jiujitsu or submission grappling down like Islam and I. I think stylistically, we’re a nightmare matchup for Charles. Both of them .”
think that I am a terrible matchup.
At this point, Dariush cannot predict what the next step will be. However, he hopes to resolve his issues with Oliveira by August or September. He can win another fight, but he will not be able to claim a title shot if he fails to do so. He wants Oliveira, more than anything else, to recognize the true contenders of the division that are eager to fight him.
“Listen to Dariush, if you have to face Islam, fine. “I assured the UFC that I would be available in September or August. I’ve been told that Islam wants to wait right now for the Abu Dhabi card [in October]. Okay, fine, but if it means I must wait, then I will fight him there. It doesn’t make sense if Charles just wants to fight Conor.
“We’re both here. Both of us are ready to compete for the title. It’s annoying. Right now, I’m just waiting to see what’s going to happen. Because I know it is a popular contest, and that there are a lot political elements to the game, I am rarely disappointed. I get it. But it’s the first time I’ve been so frustrated with another fighter. You’re literally doing the things you said other people did to you, so I don’t get it.”
