Beneil Dariush says Dustin Poirier needs to step up or step off.

This past November, Poirier picked up another big win in a career full of them, submitting Michael Chandler at UFC 281. The win solidified Poirier’s top-five position in the lightweight division, and afterwards, some suggested a potential title eliminator bout with Dariush could be next. But Poirier rebuffed the suggestion, saying that he was not interested. Needless to say that Dariush isn’t impressed.

“I wish he’d be a little bit more clear as to, what is it that doesn’t excite him about me?” Dariush told Submission Radio. Are my fights boring enough? Is it just a problem with my skills? Do I have to be the one who has it? Because if it’s just because of the name, he should really consider — and I say this as nicely as possible, I’m not trying to be a d***, but he should really consider retiring. Because if you’re going to look for the names, if you’re going to look to fight only guys that the name will get you, bro, there’s dogs coming. There’s dogs, and they’re young and they’re hungry. They are looking for a way to get killed.

“There’s guys out there already and there’s not a whole lot of Michael Chandlers left out there in the division. What are the chances of you getting more such fights? You’re going to have to fight one of these dogs, and currently I’m at the forefront of these guys. You can either take up the challenge or look for something different. He seems successful so, if you’re not genuinely — fighting is not a sport you want to be half-hearted about. So if he’s not 100 percent in, he should really reconsider what he’s doing.”

Poirier almost certainly won’t be retiring but did say that he wasn’t sure if he wanted “go through the killers” it would take to get back to a title shot. Poirier stated that he was focusing on one fight at time.

Dariush, meanwhile, has been going through the killers. Currently on an eight-fight winning streak, Dariush is coming off of a win over rising contender Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280. Dariush will be disappointed to learn that Alexander Volkanovski is now challenging Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion. This means Dariush has no chance of winning a title shot. With guys like Charles Oliveira and Poirier not wanting to fight him, this makes it frustrating for him. 4 contender.

“I’m like, dang, man. These are guys I genuinely want to fight,” Dariush said. “The reason I fought Gamrot wasn’t because I had to fight Gamrot. It wasn’t like they were making me fight him. Gamrot was the reason I chose to fight him. What a frickin’ fight. The fight got my blood pumping and I thought, “Let me fight that guy!” It’s the same thing when I watch Dustin Poirier fight Michael Chandler. This fight gets me excited and makes me want to face these men. They’re great. You’re great.

It’s unclear what comes next for Dariush. During the interview, he revealed the UFC has yet to definitely establish him as the next title contender, and chose not to have him serve as the alternate for the upcoming Makhachev vs. Volkanovski fight. That leaves Dariush in a state of limbo, essentially waiting for that fight to play out. And while that can be frustrating, Dariush does acknowledge it might actually be for the best.

“Waiting and watching isn’t a bad strategy. “Wait and see is not a bad strategy in MMA and it’s worked out for a lot of guys. It’s just that I’m very impatient.

I act more impatient than I really am.

Update: Poirier responded to Dariush’s comments below.

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VIDEO STEW

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LISTEN UP

On To The Next One. The OTTNO 2023 predictions extravaganza.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thiago Moises (16-6) vs. Melk Costa (19-5); UFC 283, Jan. 21.

Lorenz Larkin (24-7) vs. Mukhamed Berkhamov (15-1); Bellator 290, Feb. 4.

Steve Mowry (10-0) vs. Ali Isaev (9-0); Bellator 290, Feb. 4.

Darrion Caldwell (14-6) vs. Nikita Mikhailov (9-2); Bellator 290, Feb. 4.

Isaiah Hokit (2-1) vs. Peter Ishiguro (9-0); Bellator 290, Feb. 4.

John Lineker (35-9) vs. Fabricio de Andrade (8-2); ONE Championship, Feb. 10.

Martin Nguyen (14-6) vs. Shamil Gasanov (13-0); ONE Championship, Feb. 10.

Lerone Murphy (11-0-1) vs. Nathaniel Wood (19-5); UFC 286, March 18.

Cynthia Calvillo (9-5-1) vs. Loopy Godinez (8-3); UFC 287, April 8.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Thank you for reading, and we’ll see each other tomorrow!

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EXIT POLL

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Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/9/23546182/beneil-dariush-dustin-poirier-should-really-consider-retiring-if-he-doesnt-want-to-fight-contenders?rand=96749