Beneil Dariush’s loss to Charles Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 289 in Vancouver was a devastating blow to his aspirations of becoming a lightweight champion. Dariush’s eight-fight win streak was snapped, resulting in him missing out on the opportunity to take on Islam Makhachev.

Dariush acknowledged that it wasn’t his best version out there in the octagon and was disappointed by his performance. Although he was sad and close to tears after the loss, he quickly shifted his thoughts to his family, who were with him in Vancouver, and hoped to get into the octagon as soon as possible.

Dariush is optimistic about regaining his position in the contender conversation with one or two fights. He recognizes that his performance in those fights is equally important and needs to be impressive to capture audience attention. He hopes that he can get healthy and return to the octagon before the end of the year.