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Beneil Dariush was arguably next in line for a UFC lightweight title shot before featherweight titleholderAlexander Volkanovski hopped in the Octagon after the main event of UFC 280 on Saturday. A well-rounded fighter with a fan-friendly style, Dariush somehow always finds himself cruising under the radar of his contemporaries in the lightweight title picture. Make no mistake about it, Dariush is owed his opportunity.

Dariush's highlight-reel performances regularly take over Twitter feeds for an evening before the collective MMA consciousness moves on to the next shiny thing -- a rambling Conor McGregor tweet or video of Hasbulla punching UFC fighters. On the heels of a sublime performance against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280, people appear to be less concerned about Dariush's upside and more focused on whether a competitive bantamweight fight should be deemed a robbery.

"Beneil Dariush deserves a title shot," host of "Morning Kombat" Luke Thomas said Tuesday on his latest episode of Extra Credit. "He's done everything he needs to do to get a title shot, to be quite candid. This is a remarkable run he's on. He's a remarkably talented, well-rounded, thorough fighter with a fan-friendly, in-your-face style when he needs to be, while still being quite cerebral."

An eight-fight, four-year winning streak should have certainly earned Dariush a fight up the rankings. Yet Dariush found himself defending his status in the lightweight division against a lower-ranked Gamrot. Dariush muted Gamrot's renowned wrestling game and dropped him in Round 3. Dariush rejected 15 of 19 takedowns, gave up just two minutes and seven seconds of control time, and nearly doubled Gamrot in significant and total strikes.

"What part of Dariush's game was not up to the task of what Gamrot had for him?" Thomas asked. "Nothing."

Dariush is on the best run of his professional career against his toughest opposition to date. His winning streak includes three straight Performance of the Night bonuses (likely four if not for a weight miss against Scott Holtzman), Fight of the Night honors and victories over Gamrot, Tony Ferguson and Carlos Diego Ferreira. It begs the question, why isn't Dariush fighting for the UFC lightweight title? Key losses at earlier junctures in his career certainly play a role but so does his branding.

"Every fighter needs to do the things that they feel are important to their values or important to their careers. He doesn't like calling fighters out. He doesn't like making big statements," Thomas said. "He likes talking about his religious affiliations and being a very humble guy. The reality is in this business that is not necessarily helpful for your career.

"That doesn't mean every fighter needs to do the opposite of that where they are attacking every opponent... but if you don't make yourself a visible entity to the market itself, which is driven by fan preference, then you are going to have to take the slow road."

Following his win over Gamrot, Dariush -- an Iranian-born American -- expressed his support for Iranian citizens instead of calling for a title shot. Protests have sparked in Iran and globally following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, who was arrested by Iran's religious morality police for allegedly not wearing a hijab in accordance with government standards. Amini died in custody three days later. Subsequent anti-government protests in several Iranian cities have reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.

"My people in Iran, I know you are struggling. I know you are fighting for freedom," Dariush said during his post-fight interview. "I want you guys to know we're praying for you and we love you.

"There is true freedom -- a freedom that no one can take from you -- in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God... Don't ever forget that. if you remember one thing I say, remember that."

Dariush deserves credit not only for the run he is on, but also for reinventing himself at a critical crossroads in his career. Dariush found himself on a three-fight winless streak between 2017 and 2018. He was brutally knocked out by Edson Barboza's flying knee and Alexander Hernandez's piston left hand. They were the sort finishes that can completely sink a promising career. Yet Dariush persevered.

"He turned his very worst career moments and turned it into his very best. That is remarkable," Thomas said. "That is special. A special, special guy can do something like that. Impressive, amazing and very much worthy of your respect. I really hope Beneil Dariush gets a title shot.

"He's not going to dazzle you with brilliant one-liners, he's not going to give you unbelievable social media content... but what he is going to give you is everything he's got, every time out. What else do you want? You want elite skill with unparalleled commitment. That is Beneil Dariush. That's all you could ever ask for and that's what he gives."