After surviving to secure an impressive submission in the second round against Drew Dober at UFC Wichita, Beneil Dariush made the kind of call out every fan can get behind.
Wichita, Kansas — Beneil Dariush did not have an easy path to victory at UFC Wichita on Saturday night, but he did get there. Against Drew Dober, Dariush was hit early, hit hard, and hit often. Yet he held on. And in the end, scored an impressive submission win late in the second round that stunned those watching.
Reflecting on the battle with reporters including Cageside Press following the fight at the Intrust Bank Arena on Saturday, Dariush admitted that “this guy, this guy Drew, he came out hard. I really felt, in the beginning, ‘I’m going to find my distance, and I’m going to start touching him up.’ But he came fast, and he hit me good.”
“I don’t know what else to say, he hit me good,” continued Dariush. “I was going to try to do a little bit more jabbing, in and out, but he feinted really well, and was able to get inside me.”
Dariush felt Dober slow as they entered the second round, which may have been a good sign. Another good sign, his chin held up. It’s something the lightweight admitted was a concern in the past.
“My neck gave me a lot of problems, it gave me problems with my chin,” he revealed. “I would get hit sometimes, and my arm would go numb. I would get hit sometimes, and I couldn’t go forward anymore. But that’s gone. I’m pretty grateful for that.”
On Saturday at UFC Wichita, Dariush was a little more reckless as a result. “When I was younger, someone would hit me, and I was like ‘I’m going to murder you, I’m coming after you.’ A little bit of that tonight,” he explained. “When I got hit, I grabbed him for a second, but I just thought to myself, ‘I’m going to get my turn. I’m going to get my turn, and when I get my turn I’m going to hurt you.’ It didn’t work so much with my hands, but it worked with the submissions.”
The arm-bar eventually sunk in by Dariush was set up with a reverse triangle, and a kimura trap. Even Dariush himself isn’t sure what finally forced Dober to tap. “I’m wondering if he actually tapped from the choke, because the choke finished him, or it was the final pop of the arm. I’m going to have to ask him, but honestly, I don’t know.”
After the fight, generally easy-going Dariush proceeded to call someone out: his niece, whom he wished a happy birthday. No, there will be no trash-talking from Beneil Dariush. He was respectful with Dober (as Dober was in return). He will be moving forward as well.
“When it comes to competition, when it comes to fighting, I’m as savage as you’re going to get,” he explained. “I’m okay with hitting you, I’m okay with getting hit, I’m okay with cuts, broken leg, broken nose, I’ve broken my nose five, six times. But I don’t need to verbally assault somebody. I don’t need to say anything bad about somebody to get inside [their head].”
“If you feel the necessity for that, maybe it’s to hype up the fight, you’re hoping for more money, whatever it is. If you think it’s worth selling yourself out, go for it,” he allowed. “But I’m not selling myself out so I can make a little bit more money. I’m not selling my character out.”
