Image: Dustin Safranek/USA TODAY Sports

Beneil Dariush Breaks Silence On Arman Tsarukyan Loss, Admits Questioning If He 'Doesn't Have It Anymore'

Originally posted on MMA News | By Harvey Leonard | Last updated 12/11/23

UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush is still in the process of accepting the brutal knockout loss that he suffered to Arman Tsarukyan.

The pair of high-ranked 155lbers shared the cage in the main event of the UFC Fight Night event in Austin, Texas, on December 2. While Dariush was looking to defend his place in the top five and reinsert himself into the title picture, Tsarukyan had other plans.

In just 64 seconds, the Russian-Armenian slept his Iranian-born American counterpart with a vicious right hand. In the aftermath, Tsarukyan was rewarded with a long-awaited surge into championship conversation.

As he looks ahead to a potential title eliminator and future rematch with Islam Makhachev, Dariush has been left wondering what went wrong inside the Moody Center.

And with the result marking his second straight knockout loss, the 34-year-old admits that he has a decision to make.

Dariush: Is The Issue That I Don't Have It Anymore?

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Dariush broke his silence on his second setback of 2023 over a week on.

Although he entered the year riding a lengthy eight-fight winning run, falling victim to back-to-back first-round finishes has firmly stalled the veteran's desired push toward a first title shot.

And having previously insisted that he won't fight beyond his means, the results mean he's now pondering his future.

"It's really hard to explain. The best way I like to put it is I'm still wrestling with it," Dariush said. "I have this process I go through in the mornings. I wake up and I'm like, 'Dang, I lost.' ... Remember I told you guys I felt like I just didn't show up for that fight (against Oliveira)? I was like, 'Man, maybe I did something wrong in camp. I'm gonna go back and fix it.'

"That was my focus, 'I'm gonna go back and fix my camp, and go into his fight and everything will be better.' ... I had a really good camp for this fight," Dariush continued. "Then I got to the fight and I didn't show up again. So now, it goes from is it an issue of not showing up to an issue of maybe I don't have it anymore. I guess that's the difference between this fight and the last fight."

Prior to his recent losses, Dariush had completed a once-unlikely rise into contention courtesy of notable victories over Drakkar Klose, Drew Dober, Tony Ferguson, Diego Ferreira, and Mateusz Gamrot.

With that streak coming on the back of a three-fight winless run across 2017 and 2018, bouncing back from consecutive setbacks is certainly not alien to Dariush.

Whether or not he chooses to attempt to repeat that feat, however, remains to be seen.

This article first appeared on MMA News and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: