Beneil Dariush vows not to be deterred after his setback against Charles Oliveira.
Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) had his winning streak snapped by Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event. Dariush was able to get top control on the ground but was stunned standing, and finished toward the end of Round 1.
It was a disappointing performance for Dariush, who entered the fight as the favorite, but he chalked it up to a bad night.
“I watched it back, and I just know that’s not the best version of me,” Dariush told Submission Radio. “I don’t know. For whatever reason that day I was not on. I can’t explain it. I’m not gonna give too many excuses because I don’t want to take from Charles. He was the better man that night. He had a great victory. But that was definitely not the best version of me.”
Dariush says he received a ton of support after the loss, but he isn’t taking it as heavily as his prior one to Alexander Hernandez, which had him contemplating retirement.
“Obviously I had a disappointing result,” Dariush said. “It’s not what I wanted. But I’m not broken, and I’m not ashamed.”
Dariush lost out on a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after amassing an eight-fight winning streak. But the 34-year-old is not giving up on his title aspirations.
“I had my moment in the shower where I was just super sad and on the verge of tears,” Dariush said. “But then I got out of the shower, looked at my family, grabbed my two daughters, and I walked out like I’m gonna live to fight another day, and I’ll become a champion another day. It won’t be today.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
