Beneil Dariush Explains What Went Wrong Against Charles Oliveira At UFC 289
Beneil Dariush has shared why he thinks he never got going against Charles Oliveira at UFC 289.
Dariush and Oliveira mixed it up inside Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 10. This one was over in the first round, as Oliveira dropped his opponent and finished him off with follow-up punches for the first-round TKO finish.
(via Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports)
The loss snapped Dariush's eight-fight winning streak. Had he beaten "do Bronx," Dariush may have been able to earn a UFC Lightweight Championship opportunity. There is good news for the 155-pound contender, however, as he remains in the top five lightweight rankings.
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Dariush recently spoke to the folks at Submission Radio following his tough defeat to Oliveira. He revealed whether or not he's had a chance to watch the fight back.
"Yeah, I watched the fight," Dariush said. "I'm not one of those who doesn't really watch the fights. So, I watched it back and I just know that's not the best version of me. I don't know, for whatever reason that day I was not on."
For Dariush, everything was on point except for one major factor that ultimately cost him the fight.
"There was nothing really that didn't work out," Dariush said. "What was weird was like, I can't explain it, but at some point, I felt like my eyes were good, but my body was in slow motion. So, everything I wanted to do I was one step behind. I couldn't pull off the things that I was seeing. Balance maybe wasn't the best, either for some reason."
In the end, Dariush went through something that many fighters in any combat sport have experienced.
"I didn't feel like myself," Dariush said.
Time will tell what's next for Dariush. Despite the TKO loss, he can still very much remain in the UFC lightweight title hunt with an impressive bounce back victory. For now, he'll go back to the drawing board.
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