Beneil Dariush has been in the UFC for a decade now and has risen to become one of the top stars in the lightweight division. However, his recent form hasn’t been up to the mark as he makes his return after a year-long hiatus at UFC 311. On the back of two back-to-back losses, Dariush will be taking on surging 155’er Renato Moicano on January 18.

Dariush is an Iranian-American MMA warrior like no other. With a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Beneil Dariush showed how good of a martial artist he was from a very early age. Having amassed an impressive record, not many people are aware of him on a personal note. So, let’s get to ‘Benny’ a little better ahead of his high-stakes clash in January.

Where is Beneil Dariush from? Ethnicity and nationality

Beneil Khobier Dariush may be a citizen of the United States, but his birth took place on May 6, 1989, far away in the Middle East. Yes, the UFC lightweight star was born in Iran on a farm close to the city of Urmia which lies in the province of Azerbaijan. When he was just nine years old, his family decided to make that all-important move to the United States, but they didn’t find themselves alone in a new country because a few relatives already lived there.

When he arrived in the States, Beneil Dariush hardly spoke any English, and things were difficult when he first moved to the other side of the globe with his family. He and his sister would continue playing with their cousins and learn the language over time, and he settled in pretty well. Moreover, Dariush was born to a family of Assyrians, descendants of people from what’s often considered the oldest civilization known to man – the Mesopotamian civilization.

Beneil Dairush is also a Christian, through and through, and has often voiced his views about his religion quite openly. Now, let’s move and take a look at the details of what life growing up was like for the UFC lightweight star.

More about Beneil Dariush’s early life and family

Not much is known about Beneil Dariush’s early life, but in an interview, he once claimed that fighting was the easiest thing he could do because everything else in his life “has been hard.” When it comes to his family, there are little to no details about them since the identities of his mother and father are not available in the public domain. However, Dariush did mention a piece of advice his father shared that he carries with him to this day.

When Beniel Dariush was just about 2-3 years old, he had a scuffle, a fight that he lost. Thereafter, he’d go to his father to seek ‘comfort’, but would end up getting a lesson, which undoubtedly shaped his journey in combat sports, and the lesson was to come out on top by hook or by crook. “I don’t know what happened. But basically, I went to him to, kind of, be comforted and he was just like ‘Why did you lose?’ That’s what he said to me. He’s like, ‘You should have won. If there’s two, pick up a rock or stick – whatever you gotta do’.” Beniel Dariush told BT Sport.

UFC 311 is a somewhat similar situation for Beneil Dariush to the scuffle he had as a kid. He’s got to win this fight because, at 35 years old, he may not have much time left for a run at the lightweight title. Regardless, let us know your thoughts on the UFC star’s roots and origins.