It does not appear as though fans have seen the last of Beneil Dariush.
The lightweight veteran was among those to exit the cage with a defeat added to their records at the UFC 322 pay-per-view in November.
Dariush opened a main card that was headlined by Islam Makhachev’s welterweight title win, as the 36-year-old looked to put himself in the mix of a title picture that had been ruled by the Dagestani for years up until he vacated the throne in 2025.
But he was instead handed another knockout loss, with Benoit Saint-Denis flattening Dariush in just 16 seconds to send the Madison Square Garden crowd crazy. Having already been dealing with calls to retire from the MMA community, Dariush’s future has only gotten more scrutiny since that devastating setback in New York City.
But the No. 12-ranked lightweight contender has an idea of how he can prolong his career…
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Is it time for Beneil Dariush to call it quits?
The 36-year-old has been knocked out in three of his last four fights.
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Beneil Dariush is exploring a potential move up to welterweight after UFC 322
After releasing a brief statement confirming his good health after the KO at UFC 322, Dariush has finally spoken out about his mixed martial arts future weeks on from his third defeat in four fights.
During an appearance on Submission Radio, the Iran-born American fighter did not announce the retirement decision that many had been hoping for.
Instead, Dariush revealed that he is seriously considering a move up to the welterweight division.
“I’m just trying to figure it out,” Dariush said. “The reason I (delayed) our interview was I was thinking to myself, maybe I am going to move to 170.
“I am just kind of going through the process to see if ’55 is actually reasonable for me. … I reached out to the UFC. I am going to go there this week and do some testing over there.
“That should have been the best performance of my life (at UFC 322). … Everything was great until fight week came,” he continued. “I don’t know if it was the weight cut, but I wasn’t able to take a punch.
“That’s why I am considering going up to 170. … I’ll have some testing this week and see what I do. … I would be less tired at 170. Typically, I train with bigger guys, and I don’t walk around small.
“It is definitely an option. … I (still) have a desire to fight…and I know if the weight cut is decent, I can take a punch too.”
The 36-year-old’s difficult run began when he was stopped via TKO in the first round by Charles Oliveira at UFC 289 two and a half years ago.
Just a few months later, Dariush was knocked out by Arman Tsarukyan just 64 seconds into their UFC Austin main event.
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Beneil Dariush has passed Khabib Nurmagomedov’s advised retirement age
While Dariush is seemingly looking to continue his fighting career and perhaps even reinvent himself in a different weight class, one UFC legend would no doubt be advising him to call it quits.
Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed his opinion on retirement timelines during a public appearance in August, when ‘The Eagle’ discussed when he would like to see Makhachev hang up the gloves.
In a video originally from Ushatayka, Nurmagomedov insisted that no fighter should continue entering the cage beyond the age of 35.
“When you become 35, you need to stop doing this because [you should] leave this sport for young guys,” Nurmagomedov said.
“When you become 35 and you don’t finish, somebody is going to finish you. Why? It’s better to finish. After 35, you’re never going to be the same.
“People can talk whatever they want, when you’re past your prime, you [are] going to fight only for money,” he added.
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