Beneil Dariush’s impressive eight-fight streak came to an abrupt end at the hands of Charles Oliveira at UFC 289.
The Iranian-American was hoping to defeat the former lightweight champion to finally secure the long-awaited UFC title, which has eluded him since the start of his career. Unfortunately, the victory was not at the rendezvous, as he suffered a TKO in the first round. In the aftermath of his loss, Beneil Dariush claimed, as many fighters do after a loss, that he felt out of sorts during the fight. However, UFC commentator Jon Anik questioned his approach to the fight.
Beneil Dariush had his children in his locker room
In an episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast, featuring famed MMA trainer Ray Longo, Jon Anik spoke about his opinion on Beneil Dariush’s decision making during the fight. He even questioned his decision to bring his children before the most important fight of his entire career:
“Apparently his fight IQ and his instincts weren’t there on the night he needed them the most, and it was interesting to see how he approached this fight week and, you know, I think that we all do it differently. He has his children in the room with him, and I don’t know if that releases your most primitive state. I think there is maybe a part of this fight week that Beneil Dariush would go back and do again.”
UFC 289 was the closest Dariush came to securing a championship title in the promotion. So it’s easy to see why Jon Anik thinks that if given the chance, the Iranian-American would undoubtedly do it again during the build-up to his fight against Charles Oliveira.
