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Beneil Dariush faces Quillan Salkilld at UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth. Dariush aims to win by landing more strikes than his opponent.
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It sounds like Beneil Dariush would prefer to let his hands do the talking this week.
Dariush for years has been given nothing but tough tasks in the UFC's lightweight division, and it continues Saturday. Dariush (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) takes on Quillan Salkilld (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in the UFC Fight Night 275 co-main event.
But in this case, Dariush not only had to go on the road, all the way to Perth in Western Australia, but he has to fight rising star Salkilld at RAC Arena just a few minutes from Salkilld's home.
All he seems to get asked, though, is how to beat Salkilld, who has three stoppages and three bonuses in his first four fights in the promotion.
"I mean, the way you win a fight is you hit the guy more than he hits you. So, I plan on hitting him more. I'm not really sure what else to tell you," Dariush said.
And when he was asked again, in a different way?
"I don't know what else to tell you guys. I'm going to try to hit him as much as I can."
If that nuisance wasn't enough, Salkilld's home fans have been giving it to Dariush – particularly at the pre-fight news conference Thursday, where the Iranian-American politely asked them to give it a rest, then underplayed their effect.
"Come on, guys. Come on. Grow up. Grow up, guys," Dariush said to a crowd of detractors booing him and cheering Salkilld. "Come on. We're all grown-ups here. Don't act like kids. … Like four guys (don't like me). Come on, man. The rest of the crowd is cool. OK, OK – it's six guys. My bad. It's six people. All right, (big deal): I got booed."
Dariush's goal is to make sure he takes Salkilld's rising star and burns it out. Is he ready for the level Dariush brings with 25 fights in the UFC?
"We'll find out Saturday. We'll see," Dariush said. "I think I think it's the perfect time for this fight."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Beneil Dariush has simple plan for Quillan Salkilld at UFC Perth
Beneil Dariush has a record of 23 wins, 7 losses, and 1 draw (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) before facing Quillan Salkilld.
Quillan Salkilld is a rising star in the UFC with a record of 11 wins and 1 loss (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) prior to his fight with Dariush.
UFC Fight Night 275 is taking place at RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia.
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