Beneil Dariush was originally hoping for a return before the end of the year but with the UFC schedule already looking secured for the remainder of 2024, he’s looking at an early outing in the new year. Though this kind of break isn’t necessarily anything new for fighters, especially if they’ve got injuries to attend to, it is for him.
Since turning pro back in 2009, Dariush has fought at least once in each consecutive year. Whether he’s fighting twice a year like in 2023 or four times in his debut year with the promotion, the 35-year old has been a consistently active member of the roster.
Alongside some setbacks outside of the cage to deal with, another issue for him is finding the right fights at this stage in his career. Dariush isn’t opposed to fighting rising contenders but at the #8-ranked lightweight, he can’t be giving his spot away for free either.
One of the reasons that he’s now targeting January for his Octagon return is that it takes him a bit more time to prepare for competing at 155-pounds at this stage in his career. In a recent interview with Inside Fighting, he said that moving up a weight class so that he could fight more often and open up new opportunities was even a thought at one point because he wants to be as active as possible.
“It’s been challenging and it’s just weird, you know. I understand you’ll have your ups and downs so I had my ups for a while and now I’m kinda down but like, just not to be able to fight has been weird. I enjoy it so much. I even considered going to 170 just so I can fight more often but I don’t think I’m done with 55 yet so I’ve been trying to really focus on recovery as far as the brain injuries and stuff like that. I want to make sure when I get back into the Octagon, I don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.”
