Alexander Volkanovski blames himself for Beneil Dariush snub

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Alexander Volkanovski has expressed sympathy for Beneil Dariush ahead of his next bout.

Dariush is looking to bounce back after a 16-second defeat to Benoit Saint-Denis, hoping to regain some momentum this weekend.

The experienced fighter will be under pressure to hold onto his spot in the rankings when he faces up-and-coming Quillan Salkilld in the co-main event of UFC Perth.

Dariush may be feeling the heat from the newer faces now, but it wasn’t too long ago that he put together one of the most impressive win streaks in the division.

Alexander Volkanovski says he feels for Beneil Dariush after lightweight title shot snub

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Back in 2023, Beneil Dariush was on an eight-fight win streak that had him in the mix for a lightweight title shot if things broke his way.

Islam Makhachev did defend the belt not long after Dariush extended his run, but it was featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski who got the opportunity.

Volkanovski admitted this week, while previewing the RAC Arena card, that he feels for Dariush because of how things played out.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: “I really do like Dariush. I feel for him. He was freaking, I almost feel like I… He should have fought for titles and then that was when I obviously deserved my chance at champ-champ.”

“I ended up taking where he probably would have been. He would have been backup, he would have been next if it wasn’t [for] me and then s—, I feel like it’s my fault that he never got that title fight. He’s a good dude too.”

Dariush had previously said last year that despite impressive wins over Tony Ferguson and Mateusz Gamrot, he never truly believed a title shot was coming his way.