Beneil Dariush really makes no excuses for his loss to Charles Oliveira.
After putting together an impressive eight fight win streak that could have easily earned him a title shot, Dariush instead got offered a showdown with Oliveira at UFC 289 that would seemingly guarantee him a chance to compete for UFC gold. Unfortunately, Dariush came up short with Oliveira finishing the fight with a TKO in the first round.
While Dariush could easily attempt to explain away what went wrong that night or how he zigged when he should have zagged, that’s just not how he operates.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Charles,” Dariush told MMA Fighting. “It just wasn’t my night. It was his night. He had a great fight and that’s it.”
The win put Oliveira on track for a rematch against reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in October but the Brazilian suffered a gruesome cut in training that forced him out of the fight. Makhachev went onto knockout UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski in the first round but Oliveira was immediately announced as next in line afterwards.
Of course, former interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje also stands waiting in the wings after he scored a brutal head kick knockout over Dustin Poirier that slotted him in position as a No. 1 contender as well.
For his part, Dariush slightly favors Gaethje as the best possible opponent for Makhachev but it has nothing to do with sour grapes over his loss to Oliveira.
“I think Justin makes a good case in terms of being next and he’s someone Makhachev has never fought before,” Dariush said. “I guess that makes sense. The fact that Charles, he beat me but he also just lost to Makhachev not long ago. It’s [only] been a year [since their last fight].
“You could make a pretty good case for Justin Gaethje. But the UFC does what the UFC does.”
When it comes to the matchup itself, Dariush spent a lot of time preparing for his own fight against Makhachev but an injury prevented him from actually setting foot in the cage with him. He’s also spent time training alongside Gaethje so he knows both fighters very well.
Despite Gaethje’s past tendencies to just march forward and engage in a fire fight with every opponent, he’s started taking a more strategic approach to his recent performances. Dariush believes that could play a huge part in Gaethje’s ability to give Makhachev problems because the fighter often regarded as the human highlight reel is no longer as predictable as he once was.
“I think it’s definitely possible, especially since Justin does have that power and he has that footwork,” Dariush said. “If anything, I think he would learn his lesson when he fought with Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. A lot of it was just him losing himself in the moment and being reckless.
“I think if he can control himself similar to what he did with his last two fights, I think he can have a great fight. But that’s my opinion, I don’t know how he’s going to fight but I really do believe a controlled Justin Gaethje is a very dangerous opponent.”
Whether it ends up being Gaethje or Oliveira next, Dariush has his own business to handle at UFC Austin when he faces Arman Tsarukyan in the main event.
If he wants to get back on his own road to the title, Dariush has to beat the 27-year-old Georgian fighter, who has often been called a future champion in the UFC. In many ways, Dariush is reminded of his past fight against Mateusz Gamrot — another top lightweight behind him in the rankings who attempted to build a name off a win over him.
Dariush ultimately squashed Gamrot’s hopes with a dominant decision win at UFC 280 and he hopes for a similar result with Tsarukyan.
“It feels exactly like that [fight with Gamrot],” Dariush said. “He’s a stud so I look forward to facing him. I’ve watched a lot of his fights and I know he’s a good fighter.
“I’m assuming the fight is going to end up everywhere in all situations. So that’s how I’m preparing. I’m not sure if that’s how it’s going to be but that’s how I am preparing for this fight.”
If all goes well on Saturday, Dariush not only gets back in the win column but he could also potentially put himself back in position to compete for a title shot again in the near future.
As much as he wants that to happen, Dariush learned through painful experience that nothing is guaranteed so as generic as it might sound, he’s just taking everything one fight at a time.
“It’s a tricky one,” Dariush said. “I honestly don’t know where this fight’s going to put me but I’m definitely hoping it puts my name back in the mix. I think this is definitely something that can make that happen.”