Beneil Dariush has had some impressive wins in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but only tallied one in his last four fights. The Iranian-American wants nothing less than to break into the top 15 again, and he will have this in mind when he meets Drew Dober at UFC Fight Night 146.
Dariush is coming off a lopsided victory over Thiago Moises, and as he tries to keep his momentum going, learn more about him through this by-the-numbers report.
5: Years of training, after which he got his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Romulo Barral and Bruno Paulista. Dariush was a highly-decorated competitor who became a world champion as a blue, purple and brown belt.
7: Wins to start his professional career, fighting mostly for Respect in the Cage. He won the promotion’s lightweight title from Trace Gray and successfully defended it once before he was signed by the UFC.
36: Seconds is his fastest finish to date. This was against Gray, whom he tapped out via armbar.
105: Seconds was all it took for him to stop Charlie Brenneman. Then a returning veteran, Brennaman was tasked to welcome Dariush in the Octagon, and Dariush stopped him by rear-naked choke in the first round.
35: Days removed from his fight with Daron Cruickshank. Dariush accepted an offer to replace an injured Paul Felder and face Jim Miller at UFC on Fox 15. Going back to Cruickshank, Dariush submitted him in the second round to earn Performance of the Night honors at UFC 185.
27: Significant strikes landed on Miller, his first high-profile opponent in the UFC. Not only did he outwork Miller on the feet; Dariush also outgrappled him, scoring two takedowns over the course of their three-round war. In the end, Dariush took the unanimous decision victory.
6: First-round finishes in his career. Dariush stopped four opponents in round one early in his career. These are Vance Bejarano, Dominic Gutierrez, Gilberto dos Santos and Gray. In the UFC, his victims are Brenneman and James Vick.
46: Significant strikes landed on Vick when they met at UFC 199. Dariush was completely destroying his opponent on the feet before stopping him at 4:16 of round one. Vick could only land nine significant strikes.
4: Countries in which he has fought in. Dariush started his career fighting in Pomona, California in the United States. But he has since been to Brazil, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
6: Submissions in his resume. Dariush tapped out Bejarano, Gutierrez, Gray, Brenneman, Cruickshank and Jordan Betts. As far as knockouts go, Dairush has two, and these are against Dos Santos and Vick.
29: Years of age. Dariush was born in a small farm in Urmia, Iran, on May 6, 1989. When he was 9 years-old, his family moved to the United States. He currently resides in Yorba Linda, California and trains at Kings MMA.