UFC fighter Beneil Dariush has claimed that a UFC title fight involving Conor McGregor would devolve into a "clown show".
Dariush is currently the No.6-ranked lightweight title contender, and is the highest ranked fighter in the division who won't have fought for the belt within their last two fights after UFC 280 on Saturday. He is due to face Mateusz Gamrot in a challenging clash on the undercard, with the consensus among experts being that a win will earn him a shot at gold.
The American believed himself to be the back-up fighter for the night's main event between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira, but has been pipped to the post by Alexander Volkanovski; the featherweight champion and pound-for-pound No.1 who volunteered his services. And he isn't keen to be overlooked again in favour of McGregor down the line, reports The Mirror.
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"Let's get this guy out of the conversation," Dariush told Submission Radio. "He's not even in title contention. I know these guys all want to fight him but if they were to make a fight right now with Conor as a contender, it's like spitting in the face of everybody in the top 5 or top 10. It's a joke.
"The guy hasn't won a fight at 155lbs in years... Eddie Alvarez, when was that? Six years ago. Nah, this guy getting the fight would be the epitome of a clown show, I don't know how else to put it."
McGregor has previously demanded that his comeback fight be for a world title, but appears now to have committed himself to the welterweight division. He has lost three times at 155lb, twice to Dustin Poirier and once to Khabib Nurmagomedov, and won his sole bout for the world title against Alvarez in 2016. He is 2-1 at welterweight with wins over Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone.
Dariush has been frustrated already in his efforts to capitalise on a lengthy winning run in the division, particularly when he was forced out of his bout earlier this year against Makhachev. The Russian ended up facing Bobby Green to earn a title fight, and has yet to face a really top tier lightweight while Dariush has beaten the likes of Michael Johnson and ex-interim champion Tony Ferguson.
Now, he isn't even being used as an official back-up fighter, with Volkanovski apologising for the miscommunication and confirming that he is being paid by the UFC to appear in case either Makhachev or Oliveira pull out. "I don't know from his point, but I am the back-up fighter," Volkanovski told Yahoo Sports.
"I know I am. I'm flying my corner. We all got out flights, we got everything we need... So everything's already happening. I'm getting paid to jump on that scale so it's pretty clear that I'm obviously the back-up. I'm sure maybe he did get told that by someone. Maybe the person that told him that did get told that before they knew I was locked in... and they just haven't had that conversation."
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