Drakkar Klose believes he’d have Beneil Dariush’s spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ’s lightweight rankings by now if not for his loss to “Benny.”
Currently unranked at lightweight, Klose’s only loss in seven outings since 2017 came against Dariush (22-5) via a Round 2 knockout in 2020. The Fight Ready representative believes the loss impeded his rise up the lightweight rankings and admits to being haunted by it to this day. Considering the same, Klose is eager to get another opportunity to face off against Dariush.
“What I really want is that Beneil fight back,” Klose said on The MMA Hour. “You know what I mean, that haunts me every day. That he has that win over me. That should be my number next to my name that he has,”
In his most recent Octagon appearance, Klose (13-2) slammed his opponent Joe Solecki on the side of the head to escape an armbar, leading to the 13th slam KO in UFC history at UFC on ESPN 52 on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, Dariush suffered a Round 1 knockout loss to surging contender Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of the same card that saw the Assyrian-American drop three spots to land at No. 7 in the lightweight rankings.
Leading up to UFC Austin, the brutal KO loss sustained by Klose was one of the focal points of Dariush’s highlight reel which repeatedly played even on fight night. While Klose believes it was slightly inconsiderate, it only served as motivation for him.
“I’m not gonna lie, I woke up, I used to have nightmares about that fight. I just wanna run it back. You know the UFC is playing a clip right before I’m walking out, they’d play the whole clip of Beneil clipping me and I’m like, ‘Hey bro, I got a fight too.' I think it just gave me a bit more fire, I was like, ‘I have to go out there and make a statement.’ I wanted to do it with my hands but he let me slam him.”
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