Beneil Dariush reveals he had thoughts of retirement following KO loss to Alexander Hernandez: “My career was dead”

UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush has had a long road back to the top.

The lightweight has been out of action since his decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot last October. That win was the ninth in a row for Dariush, previously scoring wins over names such as Tony Ferguson and Drew Dober. Now, he’s slated to return against former champion Charles Oliveira this Saturday, at UFC 289.

If the lightweight is successful, he will earn a crack at champion Islam Makhachev. That would be the successful run back to the top that few, including Dariush expected. Especially following his loss to Alexander Hernandez back in March 2018 at UFC 222.

That was the debut of ‘The Great’ in the promotion, knocking out Beneil Dariush in the first round. In an interview with Shakiel Mahjouri of CBS Sports, the lightweight discussed that high-profile loss. In the interview, Dariush admitted that he was contemplating retirement following the loss.

However, he chose to fight on, leading to his current nine-fight winning streak. It’s safe to say that Dariush made the right call.

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Beneil Dariush discusses retirement thoughts after UFC 222 knockout loss

“I’ll be honest with you man. I really believe God is in the business of rolling stones,” Beneil Dariush stated in the interview. “That’s the song I come out to, that’s rolling stones. That basically means bringing the dead back to life. My career was dead, it was over, and nobody thought I would make a comeback. Including me, just to be honest with you guys.”

He continued, “I spent months in prayer. Like ‘Should I keep fighting?’, I was on the verge of retiring. I just, little things here, little things there, I started to feel better. I said ‘I’m going to make one more attempt, if it doesn’t work out this is it’. Now we’re here.”

What do you make of these comments from Beneil Dariush? Are you excited for his return at UFC 289?