Beneil Dariush looks back on the "terrible advice" from his father that made fighting easy for him

Being one of the "nice guys" in the UFC, Beneil Dariush often gets asked in interviews how he "switches on" his aggressive side inside the octagon.

Answering the question during a BT Sport interview at the UFC 280 weigh-ins, Dariush said:

"I never understood the whole switch thing. It's always on. That's what makes me so relaxed. It's easy to kill. It's never been hard. Everything else has been hard in my life."

Dariush has previously made it clear that it's the aggression and fierceness that comes as naturally to him as breathing. Being a soft-spoken, polite person is something that he has to actively work on.

Dariush further shared with BT Sport his earliest memory of his father, which pushed him towards internalizing a fighting spirit. He recounted a story of his father reprimanding him for losing a fight when he was a mere toddler and giving him a "terrible" piece of advice:

"The earliest memory I have of my father is that I got my a** whooped and I must have been like 2-3 years old. I don't know what happened. But basically I went to him to kind of be comforted and he was just like 'Why did you lose?' That's what he said to me. He's like, 'You should have won. If there's two, pick up a rock or stick - whatever you gotta do.' And I remember being 2-3 years old... and I looked at him and said, 'You're a genius! That's the smartest thing I've ever heard.' I mean terrible advice from a father but even worse as a son to look at him and say 'Oh my gosh! This is the best advice I've ever got.'"

However, his father's words eventually paved the way for him to become the fighter he is today:

"Ever since then, fighting has been the easiest thing. It has nothing to do with jiu-jitsu, it has nothing to do with MMA. Put me anywhere, kill or die."

Watch the full interview below:

Beneil Dariush was born and raised on an Iranian farm before his family shifted to the U.S.A. when he was nine years old. The lightweight contender often shares pictures with his dad on Instagram, especially on Father's Day.

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Beneil Dariush's take on Alexander Volkanovski being the backup fighter

Although there was no written agreement, Beneil Dariush had presumed that he would be the backup fighter for the UFC 280 main event. Being the other top lightweight contender on the card, one can understand where Dariush was coming from.

It was later announced that Alexander Volkanovski is the official backup fighter for Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira. It seems like his services won't be needed with both title fighters making 154.5 lbs. at the weigh-ins. However, the possibility remains that the featherweight champion, adamant to make his mark in the lightweight division, might be rewarded the next title shot.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Beneil Dariush said that he understood why the UFC would pick the pound-for-pound champion to be the backup fighter for the biggest card. But he was also upset about the position it put him in.

Ali Abdelaziz, who manages both Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush, has said that he will "call the cops" on the UFC if Dariush wins and is still not granted the next lightweight title shot.