Dariush Avoids Surgery, Targets June/July Return Against Makhachev

Rahul Mahariya -
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UFC lightweight Benil Daryush has provided an update on his injury and a possible timeline for his return to the Octagon.

Daryush, a mainstay on MMA's biggest stage since 2014, finally got his first chance at a title in the UFC last month. After achieving a seven-fight winning streak, including victories over Diego Ferreira and Tony Ferguson, the Iranian-American secured his spot in the potential title eliminator opposite fellow top-five contender Islam Makhachev.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck 11 days before the February 26 card. During training, Darish suffered a ruptured fibula after getting his toe stuck in the mat during a takedown.

Soon after, the serious nature of the injury came to the fore and Darish was facing the prospect of surgery. However, the #4-ranked Lightweight has now provided a positive update on his position.

During a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, the 32-year-old confirmed that the injury is not as bad as initially feared, and will not require an operation. Keeping this in mind, the potential layoff of four months from training has been reduced to just six to eight weeks.

"Previously, they were talking about four months to start training again," Daryush said. "So, when I heard six to eight weeks, I almost started crying."

Now that the deadline for his return to the gym is set, Daryush is well prepared to make early guesses about when fans will be able to see him enter the Octagon again. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt has further told Okamoto he is targeting a return to action in the summer.

And following a recent revelation from UFC President Dana White, it appears Daryush's next camp will see him prepare for a re-arranged clash with #3-ranked Makhachev.

"Thank God, we are going to reschedule. I feel bad for Islam. I am sure he is not happy with the situation, but it is the ideal situation for me to rebook this fight. I I want to give another 10 weeks for this camp, but if it's short, it's short. June, July, those are the dates." (h/t ESPN)

Makhachev was seeing Daryush Gillespie / Tsarukyan before the revelation

Soon after Mkhachev's comfortable victory at UFC Vegas 49, which came against short-notice rival Bobby Green, it appeared that Dagestani was in line for a title shot, a sentiment Khabib Nurmagomedov suggested White shared with him. Was.

But after the 30-year-old turned down a short-notice bout with Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC 272 pay-per-view this weekend, the UFC president revealed the promotion wants to rebook Makhachev vs. Is. year, instead of providing AKA the product with the next championship opportunity.

It certainly came as a surprise to Daryush, who told ESPN that he was already scanning lower-ranked names for a potential next enemy.

"I was so upset. At first, I thought this was going to happen, he was going to get the title shot,'" Darish said. "I heard him say, 'Oh, Dana told him the title shot. Got it,' and stuff like that. Again, I crashed into sadness, or whatever you want to call it. I was like, 'Okay, I guess it's not in.' And then I started looking at the top 10, I'm like, 'Who am I going to fight next? Who will be my next matchup?'

"I was looking at (Gregor) Gillespie, he was the one I was looking at," Darrish continued. "Who else was there... [Rafael Fiziev or Arman Tsarukyan?] I mean, Fiziev was supposed to fight Raf (Dos Anjos) at the time. But yeah, Fiziev would have been another one. And then, man, Armaan looked awesome. Were (at UFC Vegas 49). I was really impressed by him. So, yeah, he'll be the other guy."

Dariush's recovery timeline has certainly made White's plans more viable. While you would expect that to be a disappointment for Makhachev, who is seemingly expected to fight with gold on the line, Dagestani responded by promising to "break up" the entire division if that happens.


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