UFC News: Beneil Dariush Takes Home 2024 Forrest Griffin Community Award

The Forrest Griffin Community Award has a new recipient

Zain Bando | Apr 28, 2024

Beneil Dariush was announced as the 2024 Forrest Griffin Community Award honoree on April 27, given to the athlete demonstrating high-quality community service-related efforts. / Courtesy: UFC PR

Top-ranked UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) was recognized as the 2024 recipient of the Forrest Griffin Community Service Award, given to the UFC athlete who demonstrates above-and-beyond efforts in giving back to their communities through the sport of MMA or in other aspects of day-to-day life.

In a press release from the UFC late Saturday night, Dariush, 34, joined the likes of Giga Chikadze, Max Holloway, the Nogueira brothers and Dustin Poirier to earn that distinction.

In Dariush's instance, the promotion recognized him for his work with the Shlama Foundation, whose initiative is to help young children who may be underprivileged an opportunity to succeed in life with the correct resources. Dariush would host summits, autograph signings and giveaways to help benefit the organization monetarily and become recognized in the local community.

He also did similar work with Promise Child Ministries, responding to those in need by helping build orphanages to give the communities in Haiti a place to live and fulfill life goals.

UFC CEO Dana White said Dariush's dedication to look beyond himself is what made him a worthy choice for the award.

"Beneil does an incredible job giving back to his community. Beneil sets a perfect example of how athletes should use their platforms to raise awareness for the charitable causes they care about the most while helping those who are less fortunate. It’s an honor to present him with this award.”
- Dana White, UFC CEO

Dariush and the rest of the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame class will be recognized Thursday, June 27, at the induction ceremony, which proceeds UFC 303 June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC, MMA, WWE, and AEW.

Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook.

Published Apr 28, 2024

ZAIN BANDO

Zain Bando is a writer for MMA Knockout, part of the Sports Illustrated/Minute Media umbrella. He has covered combat sports since 2019 for notable outlets BJPenn.com and FanSided MMA. He also co-hosts a podcast called "The MMA Outsiders," part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network, which airs Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT. A Chicago suburban native, Bando has been enthralled with MMA since 2006 and has been fortunate to attend some of the most high-profile events in the sport's history, both as a fan and media member, including UFC 264, Bellator 297 and Kayla Harrison's PFL MMA debut. He is excited to take the next step in his combat sports writing journey and looks forward to continuing his following of the fight game for years to come. Bando can be reached via email at zainbando99@gmail.com or by social media @zainbando99