Beneil Dariush (12-1), who is ranked 7th in the UFC lightweight division, takes on 14th ranked Michael Chiesa (13-2) this Saturday at UFC on Fox: Teixeira vs. Evans.
Dariush is on a five-fight winning streak and a victory over the gritty Chiesa (who overwhelmed Jim Miller last time out) could catapult the Kings MMA product into the lightweight title picture.
Despite the gap between them in the rankings, Dariush is quick to praise ‘Maverick’ and his recent performances inside the octagon.
“He’s a tough guy,” Dariush told Bloody Elbow. “He’s got lots of heart, he’s getting better every fight – you can see it – his technique is improving every fight. So, I’m excited to fight him.”
However, the praise for Chiesa stops abruptly when Dariush considers how the two of them match up inside the cage. “I believe, in every aspect, I’m better, but I have to prove that the night of the fight.”
Dariush was a little puzzled by being paired with Chiesa, who is ranked seven positions below him, but ultimately he believes this is because of who happens to be the current king of the 155ers.
“With my teammate, Rafael dos Anjos, being the champion, if you think about it, for the UFC it doesn’t make sense for them to give me top five guys if I’m not gonna fight the champion,” proposed Dariush.
“If I beat the number five person, then that puts [the UFC] in an awkward situation, especially if I’m in line for a title shot, because I’m not gonna fight Rafa,” said Dariush. “I think that’s why they’re trying to build guys off me, which I don’t mind, because my job is to compete against the best guys in the world.”
With dos Anjos holding the lightweight crown, both he and Dariush have openly discussed what this means for their futures in the UFC. The conversation regarding which of them will vacate the 155lb division is ongoing.
“I think we’re gonna have a sit down and talk after [the Chiesa fight],” said Dariush. “We’re gonna have one more fight each and we’re gonna sit down and talk about it and see what’s the best.”
Dariush also revealed that Kings MMA’s coaching staff will be party to the discussion and that any decision would be made as a collective. “It can’t be just a decision based on one person, it can’t be a selfish move,” added Dariush, who then conceded, “My goal is greatness, so whether it is at 155 or 170 doesn’t really matter.”
Before any discussion can take place, Dariush must still contend with Michael Chiesa on April 16th. In preparation for the contest Dariush has revealed that he’s been working on improving head movement and controlling range. In addition to this, Dariush has also been focused on his wrestling as of late.
“I’m trying to improve it every day,” said Dariush. “I didn’t really get to show my wrestling last time – well, that was my fault to be honest – I had some mistakes in my wrestling game, and it shows a lot in my fight against [Michael] Johnson, so I’d like to get another chance to show my wrestling and show improvements.”
The fight with Michael Johnson last August at UFC Fight Night 73 ended via a controversial split decision. Johnson, who is currently ranked one place above Dariush, called the outcome a ‘robbery’. Dariush disagrees.
“So, he won the first round – for sure, and I won the third round – for sure, that leaves the middle round,” recalled Dariush. “I didn’t think it was such a robbery, I didn’t think it was such a big gap between us as far as the striking goes. They had the fight metric showing that he outlanded me by 6 punches, but if you notice, I landed 50 shots to the head, I think somewhere around 50 shots, he landed most of his shots to the body and less shots landing to the head, and a lot of those shots to the body hit my shoulder or it hit my chest.”
Dariush finds re-analyzing the Johnson fight a frustrating experience and instead prefers to look ahead to Michael Chiesa and beyond. Dariush believes he has two fights left on his current UFC contract, though he’s not necessarily looking to go elsewhere once those are done.
“I love my job,” said Dariush. “I love where I’m working, I love the UFC, I think it’s the best show, it’s got the best fighters, but I’m also happy to see the other organizations starting to come up and signing free agents, it creates a better environment for the fighters, so I think it’s all positive.”
Outside of the UFC, Dariush busies himself with charity work. Recently he traveled to Haiti with his church, where he spent time with orphans. Dariush and his California-based congregation have long supported non-profit efforts in Haiti in the wake of that country’s devastating 2010 earthquake that likely killed over 100,000 people. Dariush’s group has delivered food and medical supplies to Haitian orphans and also set up a satellite church in Haiti to continue supporting the local community.
Dariush is also heavily involved in Assyrian organizations that seek to ease the suffering of Assyrians in northern Iraq and Syria. Assyrians are an ethnic minority in the Middle East who have faced persecution for their Christian beliefs for hundreds of years. As of late, Assyrians have been targeted by the Islamic State, which has (according to Amnesty International) committed ‘ethnic cleansing on a historic scale’ against them.
Through fundraising with the Assyrian Aid Society of America and the Assyrian Church of the East, Dariush has been able to send money to Iraq and Syria to pay for essentials such as food and blankets for displaced Assyrians, as well as members of other persecuted minorities.
When asked why so much of his time goes towards such efforts, Dariush sounded baffled that there would be any other choice.
“I guess it’s just what it means to be a Christian disciple,” said Dariush. “You’re supposed to be the light in this world, to lead you’re supposed to serve, and I think it’s just that simple. If I call myself a Christian, I have to act like it. A Christian leader is someone who serves, right? I’m just trying to serve as much as I can.”
Dariush does not have any fundraising events planned for the near future, but he is looking forward to earning a fight purse on April 19th, that he can then pay forward to the causes he cares about.
For more information on the Assyrian Aid Society of America, visit:
You can follow Beneil Dariush on twitter @beneildariush