How did he follow that performance up? With a walk-off spinning backfist knockout against Scott Holtzman, that’s how.
On Saturday at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Volkov, Dariush (19-4-1) will have the opportunity to add to his five-fight win streak when he faces fellow contender Diego Ferreira. The lightweight showdown is actually a rematch from 2014, when Dariush was able to earn a unanimous decision over the Brazilian.
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It’s a critical fight for both men, with the winner likely getting a crack at the top five of the always stacked 155-pound weight class. And while getting a shot at one of the division’s elite has always been the goal, Dariush won’t waste any more energy trying to lock down a fight with the top five.
He’s just going to hunt them down one-by-one until he can’t be denied.
“God willing, the fight goes well with Diego and I win, and nobody is injured, I would like someone top five or top three, but I said this after my win over Scott Holtzman. I said, ‘Man I’m not begging anymore; I’m tired of it.’ Whoever they put in front of me, I’m going to treat them like I’m fighting the champion and I’m going for the kill. It’s that simple,” Dariush told the media during UFC’s Virtual Media Day on Thursday. “If you want to put a new guy in front of me, guess what, when I beat him, he is going to be discouraged. If you want to put a veteran in front of me, he is going to get beat. If you put the champ in front of me, doesn’t matter, he’s going to get beat. I’m the guy right now and that’s just how I look at it.”