Drakkar
Klose believes he’d have Beneil
Dariush’s spot in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight rankings by now if
not for his loss to “Benny.”
Currently unranked at lightweight, Klose’s only loss in seven
outings since 2017 came against Dariush (22-5) via a Round 2
knockout in 2020. The Fight Ready representative believes the loss
impeded his rise up the lightweight rankings and admits to being
haunted by it to this day. Considering the same, Klose is eager to
get another opportunity to face off against Dariush.
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“What I really want is that Beneil fight back,” Klose said on The MMA Hour. “You know what I
mean, that haunts me every day. That he has that win over me. That
should be my number next to my name that he has,”
In his most recent Octagon appearance, Klose (13-2) slammed his
opponent Joe Solecki
on the side of the head to escape an armbar, leading to the 13th
slam KO in UFC history at
UFC on ESPN 52 on Dec. 2. Meanwhile, Dariush suffered a Round 1
knockout loss to surging contender Arman
Tsarukyan in the main event of the same card that saw the
Assyrian-American drop three spots to land at No. 7 in the
lightweight rankings.
Leading up to UFC Austin, the brutal KO loss sustained by Klose was
one of the focal points of Dariush’s highlight reel which
repeatedly played even on fight night. While Klose believes it was
slightly inconsiderate, it only served as motivation for him.
“I’m not gonna lie, I woke up, I used to have nightmares about that
fight. I just wanna run it back. You know the UFC is playing a clip
right before I’m walking out, they’d play the whole clip of Beneil
clipping me and I’m like, ‘Hey bro, I got a fight too.‘ I think it
just gave me a bit more fire, I was like, ‘I have to go out there
and make a statement.’ I wanted to do it with my hands but he let
me slam him.”