“He shocked me,” Former training partner Beneil Dariush confesses doubting on Sean Strickland winning against Israel Adesanya

Beneil Dariush comments on Sean Strickland outworking Israel Adesanya in shocking UFC 293 upset.

“He shocked me,” Former training partner Beneil Dariush confesses doubting on Sean Strickland winning against Israel Adesanya

Beneil Dariush weighs in on Sean Strickland vs Israel Adesanya (Source: IMAGO)

Champion Sean Strickland authored one of the biggest upsets in UFC history at UFC 293. He outboxed and outfought Israel Adesanya to win a stunning unanimous decision. He thus claimed the undisputed middleweight gold in the UFC 293 headliner. Strickland swept the scorecards 49-46 on all three judges’ cards. Lightweight contender Beneil Dariush weighed in on the matchup.

Speaking to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi, on the recently announced main event fight vs. Arman Tsarukyan at UFC Austin, the topic came up. Dariush also discussed his recent skid against Charles Oliveira. In the interview, he said:

I mean - [it is]definitely inspirational. I was so happy for him. And I'll be honest with you. I was even doubting it. I was doubting he could do this; and the reason why I was doubting it, is like Sean has really good wrestling, but he is not gonna use it. So I think it's gonna be a long night for him. And then he goes out there and has this really efficient style of fighting. He doesn't bite on the faints of Adesanya...he shocked me!
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At 24-3, 13-3 UFC, Adesanya is considered one of the best strikers within the promotion; as is mentioned in the interview. But he never developed proper footing and rhythm against Strickland. Nobody was hoping for the latter to win.

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But Strickland leveled him with a clean one-two at the end of an otherwise lackluster first round, swarmed to a potential finish, and then locked in for the long haul. He even had good defense and pace.

After losing the title defense, Adesanya has announced a long sabbatical from combat sports altogether. He has, however, recently, given updates about the same.

Beneil Dariush says he would win a fight against Charles Oliveira

Charles Oliveira very recently was to face Islam Makhachev for the Dagestani’s lightweight title at UFC 294. The bout is a rematch of last year’s UFC 280 fight, in which ‘do Bronx’ lost his lightweight strap to Islam Makhachev via second-round submission.

However, he was forced to withdraw from the card after suffering a training injury. Alexander Volkanovski thus stepped in for a rematch of his own at UFC 294.

Dana White announces the UFC fight card for Austin, Texas, with Beneil Daruish and "Islam's toughest fight" as the main event.
Dana White announces the UFC fight card for Austin, Texas, with Beneil Daruish and “Islam’s toughest fight” as the main event. (Source: IMAGO)

Oliveira earned his title shot by defeating Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. Dariush was knocked out within four minutes of the first round. However, in the build-up to the UFC 294 card, Dariush had said he could take on Oliveira again, successfully. In an interview with Jim Norton and former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra on UFC Unfiltered, he said:

I truly believe we fight again, and I win that fight...

His defeat has however not diminished his resolve and perspective. As of now, in an interview with Luke Thomas, Beneil Dariush announced that he has accepted a bout with Arman Tsarukyan for UFC Fight Night on Dec. 2. The bout will take place in the 155-pound lightweight division. Beneil Dariush is ranked #4 in the division.

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