Beneil Dariush decided to return the favor to Justin Gaethje by helping him prepare for his upcoming fight.
Fellow lightweight Dariush (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) spent a week in Denver to aid Gaethje in his training camp for his UFC 249 interim lightweight title fight vs. Tony Ferguson.
He said Gaethje invited him to his gym when he was in town back in 2018 when he was getting ready to face Thiago Moises at UFC Fight Night 139 in Denver.
So Dariush, alongside UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, decided to offer Gaethje a hand during the coronavirus outbreak by helping him prep for the biggest fight of his career.
“I was trying to mimic him – I was trying to be similar to Tony,” Dariush told MMA Junkie. “Obviously we (have) somewhat same body type. We have somewhat of the same skill set. I have good jiu-jitsu. I can throw punches in bunches if necessary. I can switch stances. So I was doing all of that, and I was trying to keep a high pace. But in terms of pace, I think Usman was the guy who really put the pace on.
“I was thinking to myself, ‘What the heck – Justin is a machine, man.’ And I made sure to get into the positions that are most uncomfortable for Justin. I made sure to go out there and do everything awkward and do everything with a surprise, and Justin just kind of walked through everything, including training with Kamaru. I was really impressed.”
Dariush said he’s currently recovering from a torn MCL, but was able to avoid surgery. He is coming off a “Performance of the Night” knockout over Drakkar Klose in March and is aiming for a summer return against a top-ranked contender.
