Beneil Dariush Invites Tony Ferguson to Train; ‘I Would Never Deny Him’
The No. 6 ranked UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush appeared on ‘The Schmo’ to discuss everything from the current UFC rankings to his next appearance inside the Octagon.
During the conversation, the attention turned to fellow lightweight Tony Ferguson who just experienced his fourth straight loss at the hands of Michael Chandler at UFC 274.
When ‘The Schmo’ asked Dariush what advice he would have for his former foe, Beneil Dariush expressed an interest in having Ferguson join him in training despite competing in the same division.
“I actually think Tony has the right idea right now,” said Dariush. He’s talking about working with the team, having people that can push him. Having a head coach, where he’s not the head coach. Where he doesn’t wake up and be like, I feel like doing this. Man, just because you feel something [it] isn’t always the right thing to do. Sometimes your coaches know better.”
Beneil Dariush’s Last Win Inside the Octagon Was Against Tony Ferguson
Dariush and Ferguson squared off at UFC 262 in May 2021, Dariush earned the victory in a lopsided unanimous decision. Dariush was scheduled to face Islam Makhachev in a title eliminator, but an injury forced him out of the contest at the last minute.
“Honestly 90 percent of the time when I wake up in the morning I feel like not training because I’m beat up and I’m old, but that’s not how it works,” Dariush continued. It’s important to have coaches who expect things from you and you don’t want to fail that expectation.
“That being said, I think it’d be a great idea for him to join a team. Obviously, we’re right by him and I would never deny a guy. Even though we’re in the same division, even though we have history, I would never deny him if he wants to train here.”
Tony Ferguson was left looking for answers after his latest loss inside the cage. At one point, Ferguson was on a 12-fight win streak and was scheduled to face former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov no less than five times, but the bout never moved forward for a multitude of reasons.
“He’s on the right path, I think he just needs to find that team and coach,” Dariush concluded
