Beneil Dariush may "riot" if UFC skips title.
Even Beneil Dariush, the calmest UFC fighter, has his limits. Dariush was informed that he would not earn a lightweight championship opportunity by waiting, despite his eight-fight victory run.
After ex-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira was injured, the fight with Dariush was postponed from UFC 288 in May to UFC 289 in July.
Dariush has been here before, so he needed UFC guarantees regarding his future before accepting to the rescheduled fight date with Oliveira.
That's why Dariush believes a victory on June 10 will finally allow him to compete for UFC gold, and if it doesn't, he may lose his patience.
Dariush told MMA Fighting the UFC seldom keeps their commitment. “Before I fought Mateusz [Gamrot], I had a feeling they wouldn’t give me the title shot, so I said, ‘Hey, if I beat this guy, I get a title shot right?’ ‘We don’t know,’ they replied.
They stated I'm the No. 1 contender if I defeat Charles Oliveira this time. Their word is rare. Now they did.” Dariush was advised that Dustin Poirier was the top lightweight contender when he spoke with the UFC before agreeing to fight Oliveira.
Dariush is remained cool despite the controversy, which may increase scrutiny of his upcoming bout against Oliveira.
He thinks the UFC will provide a championship chance with one more victory. If not, the 34-year-old veteran may eventually explode.
“I’ll trust the UFC,” Dariush replied. “If not, I’ll follow Justin Gaethje’s advice and possibly riot.”