Rafael dos Anjos visits Beneil Dariush amid talks of Mauricio Ruffy fight after UFC 313

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos recently connected with fellow divisional veteran Beneil Dariush, who is rumored to face Mauricio Ruffy in his next bout. Both Dos Anjos and Dariush are two of the most grizzled veterans in the division, having been under the same promotion for well over a decade.

And yet, they've never crossed paths as opponents. They have, however, become friends and occasional training partners. This was evident when dos Anjos visited Dariush's gym.

'RDA' posted a photo of him and Dariush in the gym with the caption:

"Always good to see my brother @beneildariush at his beautiful gym"

Rafael Dos Anjos' Instagram story. [Image credit: @rdosanjos on Instagram]

Both 'RDA' and Dariush are going through rough patches in their respective careers. Dos Anjos is on a three-fight losing streak, while Dariush is on back-to-back losses. Perhaps linking up and working together would turn their fortunes around.

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Post UFC 313, Mauricio Ruffy wants Beneil Dariush next

After pulling off a strong Knockout of the Year contender by putting King Green to sleep with a spinning heel kick at UFC 313, Brazilian prospect Mauricio Ruffy has some big plans for his immediate future.

Now that he's starting to creep into the mainstream MMA consciousness, Ruffy mentioned a legend in Beneil Dariush as someone he'd be interested in fighting. When asked why, the Fighting Nerds standout said [translated]:

"My goal in the UFC is to be a champion and to get the title shot as soon as possible. Myself, along with my team, decided that that [Beneil Dariush] is the name the puts us closer to a title shot. So that's what we want."

Check out Mauricio Ruffy's comments below (6:47):

Dariush is coming off knockout defeats to Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. He was booked to face Renato Moicano at UFC 311 earlier this year, but Moicano was then handed a title shot after Tsarukyan pulled out of his title fight against Islam Makhachev at the eleventh hour.