Fans fall prey to fake fight announcement of Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint-Denis

Beneil Dariush has suffered two consecutive first-round defeats via knockout after winning eight consecutive bouts. Meanwhile, Saint-Denis is trending in the opposite direction as he has picked up five consecutive finishes, working his way into the rankings. The No.12-ranked lightweight has been clear that he is hoping for a bigger challenge in his next bout.

Twitter user @MMAJunkieBA shared a fake fight announcement pitting the two fighters against one another, stating:

"Beneil Dariush confirms that he has accepted a 5-round main event vs Benoit Saint-Denis at #UFCAtlanticCity on March 30th it is now up to Benoit Saint-Denis' team to oblige. per @mma_kings"

Check out the tweet below:

The news made its way to Reddit, leaving plenty of fans believing that the two are set to clash. @SnooGiraffes9141 praised Dariush for taking the fight, stating:

"Beneil would rather go out like a motherfu**er than mellow out, I can't help but respect it"

@Fearless-Park-4537 does not want the fight to come to fruition:

"as a beneil fan this sucks to see!"

@RayTheGraveDigger predicted that Dariush would get finished once again:

"Beneil boutta get brutally finished for the 3rd time in a row"

@Kraziecho suggested that the No.7-ranked lightweight will follow in the footsteps of Tony Ferguson:

"He’s about to be the Tony 2.0"

@whicheverguard232 suggested that there is no way Benoit Saint Denis would turn down the bout:

""Up to Benoit Saint-Denis' team to oblige" like they fu**ing think there's a chance in hell Benoit DOESN'T take the fight. We praise your sacrifice, Dariush."

@AppointmentNo3853 predicted that Saint Denis would get a first round finish:

"And another first round KO for the god of war"

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Beneil Dariush reveals what surprised him during Arman Tsarukyan bout

Beneil Dariush suffered a vicious knockout loss to Arman Tsarukyan in his last bout. Speaking to Submission Radio following the bout, 'Benny' revealed that he was caught off guard by 'Akhalkalakets' throwing a knee, stating:

"Interesting thing is I studied his tapes. I never really saw him throwing knees. So, that definitely threw me for a surprise, I guess, you would say. Because watching his fights, he threw a lot of kicks, and he would throw elbows from the clinch. But I never really saw him throw knees that way, like in a Thai-style clinch. So, credit to him. Definitely changed up his style, and it worked."

Check out Beneil Dariush's comments on being caught by surprise below (starting at the 14:00 mark):

Prior to his recent two-fight skid, Dariush had been on an eight-fight win streak and appeared to be closing in on a title opportunity. Instead, however, he likely faces a tough road back into title contention.