ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi interviews lightweight contender Beneil Dariush to look ahead to his recently announced main event …
Mark money for ESPN joined today by top lightweight Contender benil darush just announced a few days ago got panil darush at UFC Austin main event December 2nd against a guy that the reputation is that no one wants to fight this guy and his name is Armen serukan but you took the fight you accepted that fight against this guy who’s one of the top upand cominging guys and uh you’re a top guy yourself why did you take that fight I know and is that true that that that that this reputation that no one wants to fight this guy well I don’t know about that the the reputation I wouldn’t be surprised if if if if it’s true but I I’ll tell you this uh when him and gamr fought and obviously gamrot won the fight I asked for gamrat so I didn’t really have other options so I asked for gamr I’ve um it’s not like I’m making it a thing to fight the toughest guys but I I I I want to make sure before I retire I do fight the best guys in the world and I think he’s going to be one of the best guys in the world and possi possibly a future Champion just like gamron I I really think gamron has the potential of being a future Champion so I want to fight the best guys uh just fought Charles unfortunately it didn’t go my way but that that’s what I want to do I want to fight the best guys in the world yeah let me ask you about that fight so so you fight Charles Aliva back in h June in Vancouver and doesn’t go your way obviously we know Aliva is a stud you know we know he’s he’s Elite former Champion uh multi multifaceted uh what happened in that fight and and uh you know anything you can take away from that one you know um the best thing I like the best way I can explain it I just I was off that night I I uh it wasn’t my best performance and Charles had a great performance you know um I really don’t have any other excuses besides that I I I don’t think I performed to the best of my abilities and I think he he he fought really well you know so congrats to him and that’s it the I don’t I don’t really know what else to tell you unfortunately and as far as what I take away from it it just came home and said I’m going to spend some time with my family and I’m going to go out there and I’m going to keep doing it better and better so I I just try to make better more adjustments to my training what I could do better how I can come in more prepared the next fight and and and go forward like that I I don’t uh you know I’m I’m a competitor so it hurts to lose but at the same time it’s not my first time losing it’s not my first rodeo I know how to get it back out there get better that was a key fight because it was it was pretty much like a title Eliminator right it was number one Contender fight you guys were both I mean you were on a long winning streak he was the former champ uh extra frustrating because of that because you know you win that fight you probably are the one fighting you know Islam makev in in Abu Dhabi you know losses in general for me are are really difficult uh but but I I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again fortunately I don’t put my identity in in fighting I I put my identity in in my savior uh Jesus I put um you know my faith in in that and I have my family and and my loved ones that’s what that’s what uh that’s where really my identity is so that’s what I focus on more and that’s that’s what allows me to move forward and not be so broken um even though it it it hurts I I’m able to overcome it because not my my whole life is not about fighting that makes sense the the whole situation with with olera you know he gets hurt Alexander Bowski fills in fights makf on short notice We Know How It Ends it’s a it’s a first round knockout does any part of that you know you’re watching and going like oh if I just had won that fight against Ola none of this would happen and I would be in that in that situation yeah obviously those thoughts cross your mind but I always think you know uh uh God’s plans are greater than our plans so it let let let his plans go forward and then also I was thinking about it too uh I actually would have preferred to see gamr in that because he was a replacement right um volkanovski fight is great don’t get me wrong to be able to fight volkanovski it’s just he had nine days to prepare coming off a thumb surgery if I remember correctly obviously you’re not gonna get the best wowski I don’t care what anybody says but gamron had just fought and he fought pH and he looked good in that fight and now from that fight he he you know he’s jumped in right into a into a title fight I thought gamr would have been a more interesting fight but I understand uh it’s not all about uh what’s more interesting it’s more about numbers yeah no for sure do you think that was a mistake for volkanovski to take that fight on short notice like that ah man you know that’s a question you’re gonna have to ask volkanovski because for me it’s hindsight uh you know you know what they say hindsight is 2020 I can obviously tell you yeah of course it was a mistake but if um if he had W then what obviously you’re going to be like no oh he did the right thing so it’s not uh it’s not really my call on that I I I think like I I said in terms of what I would have preferred who I would have preferred to see I would I would have preferred to see that Gamal fight just because gam Rod’s wrestling is so interesting and he’s very elusive so it would have been fun to see that fight now it’s it’s kind of interesting right with the the lightweight title picture because it seems like it’ll be all Vera next for Islam but who knows and then Justin gatei won the BMF title friend of yours Justin gatei and uh you know he looked great against porier and he seems like he’s also kind of cute up for a title shot you lost that fight so now you’re kind of a little bit you know a little bit behind as far as the pacing goes with those guys how important is this fight against Armen uh for you in December every fight is the biggest fight of your career and and I mean it it doesn’t change right I what fight can you say isn’t whether you’re on a win streak or or you just lost every fight is the biggest fight of your career and so that’s how I’m going into this I I’ve made sure to leave no stone unturn being prepared for this battle so that that’s the game plan go uh make sure I do everything I can go out there have a great performance and then see what’s next after that are you at all worried um because you know you see this matchup and you know he’s a guy that’s you know he’s not even 30 years old yet he’s on the come up and you know you’re a veteran you’ve been in the UFC for many years you’ve won a lot you know you’ve been near the top the division before there’s there’s this dirty word that people use when when it comes to these matchups and I think you probably know what I’m talking about it’s a GW gatekeeper are you worried that you might get slotted in that gatekeeper role at lightweight I mean if I’m if I’m not good enough to be Champion then that’s what happens right that’s if you think about it everyone except for the champion is a gatekeeper it’s a it’s a stupid thought to think about as a fighter because it doesn’t make you feel good but that’s what it is if if you’re if if you’re not good enough to be Champion you’re a gatekeeper it’s all it is whether you’re ranked number one or number two or number 10 unless you’re like a Connor or someone who can really like make the UFC a lot of money then then it’s different well I mean Conor is a gatekeeper too because as soon as Dustin beat him he got a title shot that’s true I guess that’s a good point a very rich gatekeeper though I guess for Conor I mean uh now if we’re talking about monetary value okay there’s different there there’s different Gatekeepers you’re right there’s some some Gatekeepers you defeat you become much more wealthy than others yes I I I agree with that but in reality every fighter is a gatekeeper outside the champion you uh you mentioned the the gamron fight with with suruki and what do you think about that fight and and how do you think you match up with suruki and he’s got a pretty good wrestling grappling game so when the fight with gam rod and cukin happened I called my manager and he’s like no first thing he said to me was no because he knew what I wanted I asked for the for the fight with gamr I was so excited about that I really enjoyed the whole thing and I I want to be part of a fight like that and he the first thing he said at that time was like no you’re ranked higher we need to get you somebody else and then you know everybody else fell fell through I wasn’t able to get anybody and I ended up fighting gamr which was uh exactly what I wanted and uh now it seems like that that whole thing’s coming around again nobody seems to want to fight serukan and um I can’t get another opponent so we’re ending up with uh with each other so that’s that’s kind of what I’m thinking about right now I feel like uh you know maybe maybe your motivations are not the same as some other Fighters motivations in a in a way and what I what I mean by that is you know you’re talking you want to fight like the best guys and I know every I know every every fighter wants to fight the best guys but the ultimate goal is always the title as it is I’m sure for you and also making a ton of money which I’m sure it is also for you but it seems like you’re very comfortable with uh even when you were on the winning streak you were like I’ll win like 11 more if I if that’s a title shot you know and is that just kind of like the mentality that you have yeah I mean I think what’s uh I think what what it is is money is not my U as is important I’m not saying it’s it’s not important but it’s not first on the list I think um in terms of career I would say first on the list is fighting the best guys in the world and hoping eventually becoming a champion um maybe then money I’m I’m still trying to think what what if it would be money first but fighting the best guys in the world is is really it I think being Champion fighting the best guys in the world and then maybe money that’s that’s how I would place it it’s a tricky one you know because for me I I really believe God provides you know uh man shall not live on bread alone but the word of God so that’s that’s how I I feel uh and that’s how I’ve lived my life and so far everything’s been good do you want do you take any I don’t know if inspiration is the right word but in in what Sean Strickland did against Israel lisna and I know that he’s a former I guess teammate of yours you know at Kings uh I know he’s been at a lot of gyms in the Southern California Las Vegas area but but what I what I ask this is because you know he’s a guy that was around for a long time he had some adversity and he just kind of hung around hung around hung around keep kept winning kept winning got the title fight on five weeks notice no one expected him to win he goes out there and puts on a master class against the guy that’s supposed to be the best Striker maybe in the entire UFC any inspiration from that for for you I mean definitely inspirational H I was so happy for him and I’ll be honest with you I was even doubting it I I was doubting that he could do this and the reason why I was adding it I was like man Sean has really good wrestling but he’s not gonna use it so I think it’s gonna be a long night for him and then he goes out there and he just has this really efficient style of fighting he doesn’t bite on the faints of osna he takes he blocks every single kick and he’s able to just answer and answer and answer and and uh just shocked me you know and I super happy for him definitely inspirational and uh you know all the best to Sean hopefully he can keep it going are you got you guys still friendly still talk from time to time yeah yeah of course whenever I see him it’s always uh it’s always good he’s a pretty unique character you know I don’t think he for okay here’s what I think for I I think he he’s always like that but with me for some reason he dials it down a little bit I think with when he does interviews and stuff he does dial it up a little bit more up a lot more but then with me he he really is pretty pretty calm and and uh it’s actually really really funny but uh he I don’t know how to explain our convers ation it’s just it’s it’s not like the usual ones because if you see him and Marvin for example Marvin victori it’s just them yelling at each other but then Sean and I will speak to each other and it’s pretty calm clear and uh uh coherent I guess you would say it’s just we we obviously we have uh similar opinions and different opinions but the way we speak is completely different than you would see him with let’s say Marvin or all these other guys maybe uh of us in the media need like uh benil darush like masks at like media days and press conferences and maybe it could be a little bit more civil conversation you want me to translate from for Sean Strickland is that get SE if if we can get a Sean Strickland translator I think you might be the right man for the job I will uh I’ll talk to the UFC and see what they say but uh I I think to some degree the UFC probably doesn’t love everything he says but at the same time they’re like you know what this is going to get more more eyes so we’ll we’ll take it um I don’t know if they’ll want me as his translator because you’ll tone it down too much yeah exactly maybe for ESPN maybe ESPN would appreciate that maybe maybe ESPN would actually you’re right uh couple last things for you man and thanks as always for the time uh one of the one of the more interesting news developments in the last few weeks was us announced that they’re parting ways with the UFC and I know you’ve been a guy that’s been you know Pro Drug testing Pro usada he took some shots at con McGregor earlier this year about him you know maybe dodging usada what are your thoughts on on that split kind of a kind of a shocking uh you know turn of events wait wait wait don’t don’t say maybe dodging us look at the man he looks like I don’t know pound um you know I just I just uh the way I see it he looks like he’s on everything right so it’s hard not to say it but um as far as my thoughts go on uh on this if the new program is better than the old program I’m not going to complain I have no complaints if they’re going to show up test us if you know one thing uh Hunter mentioned and you know it was really really nice to see Hunter uh do uh these press conferences I agree nothing nothing against Dana like I’m I’m I’m good with Dana too but hunt Hunter I really felt he can get the message across a well he was angry but I I thought it was much more um professional guess you can use that word and and and I really like the way Hunter did that interview and and one thing Hunter said uh an example he used was the the the GPS aspect of it because when usada did that I was the one who said yeah this is great take my location and you guys can show up wherever I am I’m fine with that that makes my life way easier I don’t because the app I would update the app and and what it would do it would put two locations at once and then they would just it would uh overlap basically and I would have this issue with it and and you know and a couple of times um you know it made the workers for usada have to drive out to me where I was so it’s not like it was a huge problem but I could see what Hunter is saying like you know we put a lot of money in into this they could have been more efficient they could have been they could have had a better product for us they could have continue to improve and and and and Hunter was saying he with all that money put into this organization they didn’t see improvements and if anything there was a lot of U there was a lot of issues between the fighters and usada and I’m not talking about guys who got caught guys who didn’t even get caught guys who weren’t even in trouble they they had issues with it right so I’m I’m still definitely need something I I need usada or something like usada I definitely need testing H it’s going to be uh I I think it’s really important for the health of athletes uh but if if this new organization is is is better I that might I’m fine with it I’m uh I’m excited for it at least from what I saw from the press conference I have High Hopes I thought what uh what Jeff did and Hunter did I think they did they put on a great presentation and I was really impressed with what they said so with that being said I got high hopes for the future but you know it’s not always what what you hear so I’m hoping it is exactly as they say did you know who George purro was before the press conference no but uh turns out he’s um he’s he’s highly qualified and then turns out he’s also a Syrian a buddy of mine reached out to me he’s a Syrian told me like what a great guy he is and things like that so I was like wow this is this is really cool and um I Know It’s tricky because you can’t you can’t be like oh his Integrity just because he did this and he did that but in the beginning how else can you check someone’s Integrity you you look at their past you know in every culture uh I think even in the United States but when you want to know somebody what is the first couple of things you ask hey what’s your name what’s your what’s your maiden name so you can know the family where do you come from what do you do these are typical questions you ask right and from these questions you you get an understanding of who this person is to some degree and then you have further interactions and those F further interaction give you a better impression of the person but from the beginning Impressions you know who he is where he comes from what he’s done all these things looks great on paper he looks great he was he was the the guy in charge of you know talking to Saddam Hussein and interrogating Saddam Hussein and apparently he was the only guy that Saddam Hussein trusted and they were speaking in Arabic and he got a lot of information on him the guy’s like a legitimate American hero yeah that’s that’s crazy right like this is a guy who who basically helped us catch Sadam and he’s I I don’t know like I I agree with you I I think he’s pretty great so I’m not complaining I just I let’s put it this way I am positive about the future uh that’s how I see it got it last thing this is the 30-y year anniversary of the UFC UFC 295 is coming up in just a few days now and it’s a big celebration of the of the anniversary three decades you know it’s crazy how far this sport has come in really a relatively short amount of time compared to other sports do you have like a do you have like a UFC like Mount Rushmore do you have like the top four five guys that you think are are top of the heat the elite uh not Rushmore I think for me personally I I would have to put George CM Pierre uh just because when I first started fighting he was the guy I watched I I watched the UFC Unleashed I think it was on what was it Spike or something it’s called Spike uh I watched him on Spike and I was was like shocked by how good he was at what he was doing and then I found out he was only like what what is he like six years older than me so he was um he had a big influence on me starting to do Jiu-Jitsu that’s why I started doing Jiu-Jitsu was because I saw him uh he’s definitely up there trying to think Fedor you got to put Fedor up there because he but not the UFC though he never fought in the UFC yeah you’re right so I guess we’re not talking terms of MMA he really built that side uh in Japan he had a big he had a very big um uh influence like Hixon as well he had a big influence so if we’re talking about UFC you have to put Hoy up there because he’s a uh U because we got to talk about pioneers if you’re putting him on Mount Rushmore too right so you put AO up there and U man I’m trying to think uh females you have to put Ronda Rousey because uh you know Chris cyborg in my opinion uh greatest female athlete uh in terms of MMA I know she lost Amanda but in terms of entire career you I would go with Chris but the little Orange County shab box Kings bias there benil with well look at the the time of her career like how many years she’s been uh a champion and how how many years she never lost and then you know Amanda nunas has losses as well you know it’s she never lost so it’s it’s it’s one of those things you take the whole career and um uh I I I would say Chris is is is the best but Ronda is the one who opened the door for the for females to come into the UFC so you have to put her up there I guess that leaves me with one more um Anderson Silva uh Demetrius Johnson Jon Jones Jon Jones of course I mean gotta be one of those guys right so this is the thing and yeah all these guys are are are are really good but I’m trying to I’m trying to pick somebody who um I guess Demetrius Johnson because he you brought in this new division he added something to the so you want impact like someone that really imp the sport yeah so for example Anderson you know Anderson and Israel very similar you could you can almost like it would be hard to pick between those two guys on who goes on on that Mount Rushmore right I I I guess with Jon Jones you don’t really have a comparison he’s he’s he’s J Jones right but that’s kind of what I was thinking so maybe Demetrius it’s a tough it’s a tough list man it’s something I would have to think about more and this is why I tell you my identity is not in fighting because I would spend way too much time on it maybe even like a khabib too like khib could be up there in that conversation yeah I mean think about it the the the the so-called like the dagani or Russian or chch or whatever you want to call it Invasion that that’s taking place I I would say he was like the Spear of that right so he you could definitely put him up there undefeated no one else can say that right in in the history of their entire careers no one ever beat the guy that’s true I big respect to him he’s he’s still in my opinion the best lightweight of all time agreed agreed banil we could probably talk all day about all this uh these ins and outs but I I appreciate you again UFC Austin December 2nd darush saroian it’s going to be a great lightweight fight really appreciate it man thank you so much yeah my pleasure brother you have a good one [Applause] [Music]