Beneil Dariush thinks Dustin Poirier should consider retiring following recent comments.
The UFC lightweight division may not have ever been as stacked as it is right now. The top five alone are all killers who all have the skills to become a champion. The current champ Islam Makhachev has his first title defense right in front of him, but he will not be facing one of these top five lightweights, instead, he is taking on featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. This has left a void in the division, one that none of the top fighters seem eager to fill.
With the champ locked up, there should be bouts taking place to determine the next rightful contender. Instead, nobody in the top five currently has a fight booked. Number four-ranked Beneil Dariush has chimed in on the gameplan of some of his fellow 155-pounders, in particular Dustin Poirier.
Beneil Dariush thinks Dustin Poirier should consider retirement
Recently Poirier was asked if he had anyone in mind for his next bout inside the Octagon. He responded by saying none of the men at the top of the lightweight division excited him. Dariush took this to heart. He feels that Poirier is looking only for “big-named, big money” fights. Dariush spoke to Submission Radio podcast about this.
“I wish he’d be a little bit more clear as to what is it that doesn’t excite him about me. Are my fights not exciting enough? Or is it a skill issue? Or is it just because I don’t have the name? You know if it’s just because of the name, man, he should really consider, and I say this as nicely as possible, I’m not trying to be a dick, but he should really consider retiring,” he said. “Because if you’re going to look for the names, if you’re going to look to fight only guys that the name will get you bro, there’s dogs coming, there are dogs and they’re young and they’re hungry, and they’re looking to kill.”
Poirier has won four of his last five fights. The only loss was a title fight with former champion Charles Oliveira. The wins were over Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker, and Conor McGregor twice. Dariush feels that Poirier is avoiding fighting a top-ranked opponent and is only taking fights with popular fighters or title shots. He urges Poirier to take a look at his motivation.
“There’s not a whole lot of Michael Chandler’s left out there and in the division, like how many more fights like that can you get? You’re gonna have to have a fight one of these dogs and, you know, currently I’m at the forefront of these guys,” he said. “So either step up or think about doing something else. He seems successful so if you’re not genuinely, fighting is not a sport you want to be half-hearted about. So if he’s not 100%, he should really reconsider what he’s doing.”
Dariush has won eight in a row, however, no opponents during that streak have been ranked in the top five. Dariush is pushing for top-ranked guys and wants a shot at Poirier.
