Firas Zahabi believes “something was off” with Beneil Dariush at UFC 289: “He’s way better than that”

Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi believes something was off with Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 last weekend.

Last Saturday night at UFC 289, Beneil Dariush faced Charles Oliveira in the co-main event. While Dariush seemed to be faring pretty well in the first few minutes, it didn’t take long for Oliveira to take over. In the end, ‘Do Bronx’ earned a vicious TKO win, bringing Dariush’s title hopes to an end for the time being.

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Many felt as if Dariush didn’t live up to the expectations that many had set out for him. Others thought Oliveira was just better on the night, but either way, it was a shame to see his win streak come to an end.

Firas Zahabi, who was in attendance in Vancouver, had the following thoughts on what went down.

“He underperformed, he’s way better than that,” Zahabi said. “I’m a big fan of Dariush, and I remain a big fan. I just feel something was off that night. I don’t know what it was, I didn’t talk to him. I saw him at the fights, we said hello. I feel he underperformed, he could do so much better. Especially when a guy pulls guard within the first few seconds of the fight. He just grabs onto you and pulls guard. Something was off in my opinion. I don’t know what it was, but he had a golden opportunity and he just couldn’t seize it.”

Quotes via MMA News