Beneil Dariush says he heard Tony Ferguson’s knee pop at UFC 262

UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush says that he heard Tony Ferguson’s knee pop during a near submission attempt at UFC 262.

Dariush was able to control Ferguson with his wrestling for the majority of the 15 minutes of the UFC 262 co-main event, but at one point in the second round, he was able to get Ferguson’s leg and attempt a nasty heel hook. Dariush wasn’t able to coax the tap from Ferguson, but according to “Benny,” he heard Ferguson’s knee pop during the squeeze.

“How do you not tap to that heel hook? His knee popped, and it popped loud. I saw his face change for a second, and then he went back to normal, and he started kicking me in the body. That upkick he hit me with? That was pretty good,” Dariush said (h/t MMAFighting.com).

Dariush said that although he wasn’t sure how much damage he caused Ferguson, he knows that it’s possible “El Cucuy” injured his knee, and Dariush hopes he’s not hurt bad.

“I don’t even want to guess. I hope nothing happened to his knee. Because that’s where your ACL goes. When you go for a heel hook and it pops like that, your ACL could be gone. I know he’s a superhuman, but I don’t want that on anybody. I hope he’s fine,” Dariush said.

Following the win over Ferguson, Dariush has now won seven straight fights and is now entrenched in the top-10 at 155lbs. Beating someone like Ferguson should earn Dariush an opponent closer to the top-five, so it will be interesting to see what the UFC does with him next. He is clearly one of the best in the world right now and even though he didn’t officially get the submission over Ferguson, it’s still the biggest win of his career thus far.

What do you think is next for Beneil Dariush following his win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262?