Beneil Dariush claims Tony Ferguson ‘Glitched’ during their UFC fight: ‘There was an awkward pause in this striking’
Beneil Dariush has voiced his concern for past-foe, former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, claiming he witnessed what he described as a “glitch” in their UFC 262 clash back in 2021, calling for the Oxnard native to truly consider retiring from the sport.
Dariush, the current number four ranked lightweight contender, has been sidelined since he featured in the co-main event of UFC 289 back in June, suffering a first round ground strikes TKO loss to former undisputed champion, Charles Oliveira in the pair’s championship eliminator.
The defeat saw Iranian-born grappler, Dariush’s impressive eight fight winning run halted – having most recently turned in a one-sided unanimous decision win over recent UFC Vegas 79 headliner, Mateusz Gamrot back in October of last year.
Embarking on a stunning winning streak between 2018 and June of this year, Dariush turned in an impressive unanimous decision win over former interim champion, Ferguson two years ago – almost submitting the Californian with a third round kneebar in Houston, Texas.
Beneil Dariush claimed Tony Ferguson “glitched” during their UFC 262 clash
However, when reflecting on his bout with The Ultimate Fighter victor, Dariush claimed he witnessed somewhat of a “glitch” in the system for Ferguson, pleading with the 39-year-old to retire from mixed martial arts.
“As far as Tony Ferguson goes, I think Tony should hang it up but it’s his decision because from my understanding, in his training, he feels better, he’s doing better, it’s just for some reason, fight day, it’s not showing up, you know,” Beneil Dariush told Luke Thomas during a recent interview. “And he has reasons for every one of the fights but from what I felt personally, when I was striking with him, and we didn’t do a lot of striking, there was a weird, awkward pause in his striking, almost like a glitch in the system.”
“So, I didn’t like that,” Beneil Dariush continued. “I personally think he should retire. But, it’s Tony’s choice.’ (H/T MMA News)
Already booked to return following a sixth straight loss against Bobby Green at UFC 291 in July, Ferguson is slated to feature on the main card of UFC 296 in December, taking on the returning polarizing lightweight, Paddy Pimblett in an end-of-year clash.
