Beneil Dariush breaks silence on backlash over Islam Makhachev remarks

UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush broke his silence on his recent remarks about the Islam Makhachev-Renato Moicano bout at UFC 311 earlier this year. In an interview with MMA Junkie a few days ago, Dariush opined that he would have won via finish against the then-UFC lightweight king.

For background, Dariush was supposed to fight Renato Moicano in the event but the Brazilian fighter was promoted to the main event in light of the original title challenger, Arman Tsarukyan, pulling out due to injury. Dariush was left with no opponent but was paid handsomely by the UFC for making the weight and showing up.

In an interview with Submission Radio today, the Iranian-American fighter cleared the air regarding his controversial comments, saying:

"People don't like that, then they don't understand what a fighter is. I don't fight just to be a fighter. I fight because I want to be the best in the world. And I believe I can be the best in the world. And I believe if I'm in, you know, if I'm physically, mentally, spiritually in the right place, I think I could beat anybody in the world. So yeah, and that day, I remember just feeling great in that weight cut. I remember just thinking to myself, 'This is the sharpest I've ever been."

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Check out Beneil Dariush's comments below (10:25):

What exactly did Beneil Dariush say about Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano bout?

In his interview with MMA Junkie, Beneil Dariush was asked if he would have performed better than Moicano, who was submitted swiftly by Islam Makhachev in the first round. The No.9-ranked lightweight was confident that he would have done so much better than his supposed rival, whom he will now face at UFC 317 next month.

Dariush said:

''I would have won. It would been a finish for sure. It wasn't gonna got five rounds. The way Makhachev and I fight, it's not going five rounds...Neither of us has ever lost a decision. He doesn't lose decisions, I don't really lose decisions, so, I don't think I was gonna lose that fight."

Check out Renato Moicano's comments below (14:04):

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Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi