Beneil Dariush reveals he accepted offer to fight rival Dustin Poirier at UFC Austin: ‘I’d love to hear what he has to say’
Himself revealing how he received and accepted an offer to fight for undisputed lightweight gold back in October against Islam Makhachev, former interim champion, Dustin Poirier then received no update from the promotion – and incoming UFC Austin main event star, Beneil Dariush has suffered the same fate, in the form of a failed pairing to fight Poirier on two occasions this month.
Dariush, the current number four ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined since he co-headlined UFC 289 back in June in Canada, suffering the snapping of his eight fight winning run, in the form of a stunning opening round TKO loss to former undisputed champion, Charles Oliviera.
As for Poirier, the former interim lightweight champion headlined UFC 291 back in July in his most recent outing, suffering a spectacular second round high-kick KO loss to Justin Gaethje in the pair’s symbolic BMF championship rematch.
Beneil Dariush reveals offers to fight Dustin Poirier
Booked to take on Armenian contender, Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC Austin this weekend in the promotion’s return to ‘The Lone Star State’, Dariush claims he accepted two separate offers to fight Lafayette native, Poirier at UFC 295 earlier this month, as well as the this weekend’s return in Texas – ultimately to no avail.
“I actually got a call for fighting Dustin Poirier a couple of weeks ago on UFC 295,” Beneil Dariush told Submission Radio. “They [the UFC] called me for that and they said, ‘Hey, would you be willing?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course. My weight’s good, I’m obviously in camp right now, I can do a fight with Dustin Poirier.’ And they said, ‘Okay, we’ll get back to you.’ It didn’t materialize and then they called me again and they said, ‘Okay, what about Dustin Poirier for December 2?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I just waited and it didn’t materialize.”
“Afterward they said they were going to stick with Arman (Tsarukyan) and it’s gonna be five rounds,” Beneil Dariush explained. “I never hear the other side. I’m not really sure what happened with Dustin. I would love to hear what he has to say about it, but no one has asked him in the interviews or anything like that or he hasn’t mentioned it.”
Who wins in a potential future fight: Beneil Dariush or Dustin Poirier?
