Alexander Volkanovski says he still feels bad about how the lightweight title picture unfolded for Beneil Dariush, admitting the American likely would have received a championship opportunity if Volkanovski had not stepped in to pursue double-champion status.
"I really like Dariush. I feel for him. He was supposed to fight for the title, but at that time I obviously earned my chance to become a double champion. In the end, I took the spot that probably should have been his.
He would have been the next contender if it weren’t for me. Sometimes I feel like it’s my fault that Dariush didn’t get a title fight. He’s a good guy and definitely deserved it at that moment. But of course, people were saying I deserved that fight too, and in the end it happened. The idea was that after that, he would get his title shot, but he lost, and after that everything started going downhill for him," the Australian told MMAJunkie.