Beneil Dariush admits he’s taking it ‘one fight at a time’ ahead of UFC Perth: ‘Maybe I don’t feel motivation’

Beneil Dariush is getting his wish to fight in Australia, which is something he wanted before his career was up.

Dariush was supposed to return at UFC 327, but Manuel Torres withdrew due to an injury. The UFC couldn’t find a replacement, and the promotion ended up offering him the co-main event of UFC Perth against Quillan Salkilld, which he took.

“I got the call on a Sunday that Manuel was out, and I was waiting to see who would replace him,” Dariush said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “They called me (a couple of days later) and said what do you think of fighting in May? I was supposed to fight in February originally. They pushed it to March and then April and now May. It’s been a super long camp, but fortunately, my body has held up well.”

Although Salkilld isn’t ranked, Dariush is excited about the fight as it is a tough challenge for him. And, to add to it, Dariush gets to fight in Australia, which he’s glad to do.

“I always wanted to fight in Australia,” Dariush said. “The perfect world would have been Sydney or Melbourne, but I’ll go to Sydney afterwards this fight. … I knew him to some degree, Nasrat is my friend, and I saw him fight Nasrat and he beat him. I knew of him, and once I got the name, I watched his other fights and got familiar with him. … There wasn’t anybody ranked that was available; it’s not uncommon, it’s pretty common for my history.”

Beneil Dariush eyes stoppage win at UFC Perth

Entering UFC Perth, Dariush is the betting underdog, and he knows people will be overlooking him. Yet, Dariush has full confidence that he has all the tools to pull off the upset.

“I want to go out there and have a good performance. … It’s not new to me, I plan on going out there and doing what I always have done. Underestimating me, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. If that’s what people think, we will see how it goes,” Dariush said.

Beneil Dariush believes he has the grappling advantage against Quillan Salkilld at UFC Perth. However, regardless of where the fight plays out, Dariush is confident he will have the right game plan to get the win and even finish Salkilld.

“I don’t know what his game plan is, but one way or another, I think the fight will go to the ground. Whether he wants to or I do, there will be some grappling exchanged because we both are grapplers. … There’s a good chance of a finish, yeah,” Dariush added.

If Dariush gets his hand raised, he isn’t sure what it does for him. Instead, he said he’s just taking his career one fight at a time.

“I’m not sure because the rankings don’t make sense to me. I beat Gamrot and Moicano, and they have me behind both. If I win this fight, I’m going to figure out how I’m going to get ahead of myself. … I’m taking everything one fight at a time. I’m at a place where I’ll fight this one, and maybe I don’t feel motivation, win or lose, that could be it. I don’t want to think too far ahead,” Dariush concluded.

Do you think Beneil Dariush will beat Quillan Salkilld at UFC Perth?