Coach Rafael Cordeiro: Beneil Dariush suffered serious head trauma
During a recent interview on the Trocação Franca podcast with MMA Fighting‘s Guilherme Cruz, Kings MMA head coach Rafael Cordeiro was asked about Dariush’s ongoing absence.
“Benny had a very rough year last year,” Cordeiro said of Dariush. “He had two knockouts and three knockdowns. He was knocked down twice and knocked out once in the gym, and then fought Charles and was TKO’d. Fought Arman next and was knocked out. He had five situations during the year where his head was hurt. He’s a young kid, and it was a request I made for him to take some time.”
Cordeiro then further emphasized that the extended hiatus wasn’t due to Dariush losing confidence after back-to-back defeats.
“Let’s see the fights that make sense for him for the moment he’s physically recovered,” Cordeiro admitted on Dariush’s expected return. “I’m not talking about confidence. He has confidence. It’s more of a neurological thing. I want him to worry about it for a moment because he was hit a lot.”
Cordeiro then claimed that Dariush has no plans to retire and remains intent on bouncing back in his return. He also explained that Dariush is back to sparring after complaining of head pain after the loss to Tsarukyan.
Before defeats to Tsarukyan and Oliveira, Dariush won eight fights in a row, including dominant victories over Tony Ferguson and Mateusz Gamrot.
Cordeiro’s claims come amidst increased discussions about concussions and head trauma suffered by MMA fighters. UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey claimed she suffered from a series of concussions during her fighting career, which she says contributed to the abrupt end of her UFC run.
At 34 years old, Dariush has plenty of time to right the ship, and his team is making sure he’s 100% before booking another fight.
