Den iranske lättviktaren Beneil Dariush (10-1) är en av lättviktsdivisionens mest spännande namn. Det var bara en månad sedan hans senaste vinst i oktagonen men till helgen ska han ta emot veteranen Jim Miller vid UFC on FOX 15 i New Jersey, som dessutom är Millers hemstat. Han berättar varför han accepterade fighten, sina tankar om Miller samt hur det är att träna med lättviktsmästaren Rafael Dos Anjos.
Det var vid UFC 185 som Beneil Dariush ströp ut sin motståndare Daron Cruickshank i den andra ronden via rear naked choke. Detta är hans tankar kring matchen:”I think what happened in my fight with him is he ran out of gas after the first round because we kept up such a high pace and I didn’t even notice. And that had to do with training with Rafa – he goes 100 percent all the time”. Det är UFC:s lättviktsmästare Rafael Dos Anjos som Dariush tränar med vid Kings MMA och han berättar hur inspirerande det var att se sin lagkamrat vinna bältet. ”It was incredible. My performance was one of the few times where I was really happy with my fight – I did a lot of good things – but then, after I watched Rafa’s fight, I realized, ‘Man, I gotta get back in the gym”, säger han till ufc.com.
Dariush valde att kliva in för en skadad Paul Felder mot Jim Miller (24-5-1) på UFC on FOX 15 underkort. Att möta en så skicklig motståndare på hans hemmaplan med så kort varsel var inte något som fick Dariush att avvika från utmaningen. ”Jim is ranked No. 13, he’s fought some of the best guys in the world – he’s fought titleholders. For me to fight him is a step up in competition and I’m just really looking forward to that. My goal is just improvement and this is the best chance to do it. I have to build up one fight at a time. Last fight was great, but now I have to move up and I think this guy is really tough. Jim Miller has almost 20 fights in the UFC – he has so much experience and he’s so well rounded, I’m just so excited to get a chance to fight a guy like this”.
Kommer inte att möta Dos Anjos ens om bältet är på spel
Dariush har nu vunnit tre raka matcher i UFC och fyra av sina fem första framträdanden i organisationen. En vinst över Miller gör att 25-åringen närmar sig den yttersta eliten i divisionen. Han är dock klar med att även om han vill nå upp till Dos Anjos nivå så kommer inte de två att mötas ens om det gäller lättviktsbältet: ”I get that question all the time and I always say the same thing, ‘No, I won’t fight Rafa; we’re family. I go to his house, I eat there, I hang out with his family, and I play with his kids. Imagine if we fought and I cut him or he cut me and it leaves a scar and then I see that scar every day – it would ruin the relationship and it would ruin the gym. It just doesn’t make sense. It would be selfish on my part”.
Vad gäller hans utvecling och mål för de kommande året så vill han helt enkelt att fler ska lägga märke till honom. ”I’m so happy with my training right now. Coming back into the camp so fast, I feel like I’ve hit another level. I feel way better than I did four weeks ago, which sounds crazy, but I can feel myself improving. So many things feel sharper. I’m going to show a new level – a new pace, new pressure. I think the most important thing for me is to have a steady pace (of fights) and keep moving up. Cruickshank was where the people started to notice me more, but I can’t be thinking about people noticing me. I can’t be worried about that. I have to keep focusing on improving because with wins, it’s going to happen. Doesn’t matter if it’s two wins or five wins or 10 wins – as long as I do my job right, people will notice me. The goal for this year is to keep a steady pace and keep improving and hopefully people will notice”.
