Beneil
Dariush could be one step away from securing an elusive title
shot in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division.
The 34-year-old
Kings MMA representative will look to cement himself as the No.
1 contender at 155 pounds when he confronts
Charles
Oliveira in the
UFC
289 co-main event on Saturday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver,
British Columbia. Dariush enters the Octagon with the wind of a
career-best eight-fight winning streak in his sails. He last
appeared at UFC 280, where he outpointed former two-division
KSW champion
Mateusz
Gamrot to a unanimous decision in their three-round encounter
on Oct. 22.
As Dariush sets his sights on Oliveira, a look at five of the many
moments that have come to define him:
1. When Reality Bites
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 13 finalist
Ramsey
Nijem blasted through the previously unbeaten Dariush with
punches in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 39 lightweight
showcase on April 11, 2014 at Du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates. Nijem finished it 4:20 into Round 1. A counter left hook
marked the beginning of the end for Dariush. He retreated to the
fence, where Nijem swarmed him with punches and threatened him with
a guillotine choke. Dariush fought valiantly to remain a factor in
the bout, but his adversary gave him no refuge. Nijem kept firing
punches, moved to mount and ultimately settled in a kneeling
position, unleashing one last barrage that forced the stoppage.
2. Road Warrior
Dariush stepped in as a short-notice replacement for the injured
Paul
Felder, leaned on his world-class ground game and claimed a
unanimous decision from
Jim Miller in
their featured UFC on Fox 15 prelim on April 18, 2015 the
Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. All three cageside judges
struck 29-28 scorecards. After a closely contested first round,
Dariush took off. The
Rafael
Cordeiro protege landed multiple takedowns, proved superior in
the scrambles and slowly wore down Miller. Dariush achieved full
mount on his fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt three times over
the final 10 minutes. He also transitioned to Miller’s back with
ease, utilized a suffocating top game and maintained a merciless
pursuit of submissions.
3. Not Yet a Top Gun
Michael
Chiesa dispatched the former Respect in the Cage champion with
a second-round rear-naked choke as part of the UFC on Fox 19
undercard on April 16, 2016 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Dariush tapped out 1:20 into Round 2. Early returns were not
promising for Chiesa. Dariush chewed up his lead leg with kicks and
knocked him off-balance with left hooks and overhand rights in a
one-sided first round. “The Ultimate Fighter 15” winner was not
dissuaded. Chiesa struck for a takedown 30 seconds into the middle
stanza, advanced to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt’s back and
cinched the choke in a standing position. After a brief struggle,
Dariush raised the white flag of surrender. It remains the only
submission defeat of his career.
4. On the Button
Dariush silenced his remaining naysayers with a spectacular
one-punch knockout of
Drakkar
Klose in the second round of their UFC 248 lightweight feature
on March 7, 2020 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Klose met his end
60 seconds into Round 2. Dariush controlled the first five minutes
with superior grappling, as he climbed to the back, secured his
position with a standing body triangle and hunted rear-naked
chokes. A firefight broke out at the start of the second round,
where both men were staggered by power punches. Dariush pushed
Klose backward and uncorked a hellacious left hook that froze the
MMA Lab rep and brought their encounter to a sudden and
dramatic close.
5. Final Word
Multiple takedowns, stellar positional control and effective
ground-and-pound carried Dariush to a split decision over
Diego
Ferreira in their three-round UFC Fight Night 184 rematch on
Feb. 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three members of the
judiciary scored it 29-28:
Jerin Valel
for Ferreira,
Chris Lee and
Dave
Hagen for Dariush, who moved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series
with the Brazilian. Ferreira withstood a brutal knee strike to the
body in the first round but ran into considerable difficulty with
takedown defense. Dariush grounded him repeatedly across the first
10 minutes, frustrating the former Legacy Fighting Championship
titleholder with his relentless effort. Ferreira, to his credit,
never gave up his pursuit. He staggered Dariush with an overhand
right and front kick in the first round, then used his hand speed
advantage to rack up effective punching combinations in the third.
However, Ferreira’s efforts fell short on the scorecards, and he
went down to defeat for the first time in nearly six years.