Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Beneil Dariush beat his opponent, Mateusz Gamrot, at UFC 280 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, winning a unanimous decision from the three-judge panel scoring the fight.
But Dariush didn’t travel to the Muslim-majority nation just to fight against flesh and blood.
After the judges’ decision was announced and Dariush declared the winner, announcer Daniel Cormier complemented him on his victory and asked how it felt to beat a younger opponent.
But Dariush had something else on his mind, even after a dramatic victory — his eighth in a row.
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“I’m sorry, Daniel,” he said into the public address system microphone. “But I got to take a minute. I need to dedicate this fight.
“My people in Iran, I know you’re struggling. I know you’re fighting for freedom. I know it’s a tough struggle. I want you guys to know we’re praying for you and we love you.
“Let me tell you one more thing,” he said. “This might be the most important thing you’ll ever hear: There is true freedom, a freedom that no one can take from you in the name of Jesus Christ the son of God.
Would you ever acknowledge Jesus Christ in front of a huge crowd like this?
“Don’t ever forget that — If you remember one thing I say, remember that.”
Iran, of course, has been locked in violence for weeks after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and allegedly beaten for violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code for women, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Cormier didn’t have much to say in response to Dariush’s statement and, to his credit, he didn’t even try, instead asking him a follow-up question about the fight. Dariush indulged him and talked fight strategy for a moment. But then Cormier gave him another opening, asking about a possible future championship bout, given that the lightweight had just won his eighth consecutive fight.
“That’s a great question, but here’s — the thing is I don’t have the answer for this. But I will tell you one thing: I’m not a beggar. I’ve done everything that I needed to do. You said fight in here, whoever you put in front of me, I fought whoever.”
I had an English professor who told me once that if I didn’t know the answer to a question on an exam, I should write about something I did know. I wonder if Dariush had the same professor.
“Here’s what I will tell you: My crown will come from my Lord and Savior,” the winner reiterated.
“I don’t care if I have to win another 10 fights before I get this belt; I’ll do it,” he said.
You can watch the interview here:
The UAE is a Muslim-majority nation, of course, where Dariush risked running afoul of the law with his comments (although it would probably take a pretty dedicated law enforcement official to even attempt to get the cuffs on him.) According to the U.S. State Department, the nation’s law “prohibits blasphemy, proselytizing by non-Muslims, and conversion from Islam.”
Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ under such conditions requires some courage, but it’s courage easily found in God.
“God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control,” Paul wrote to Timothy. “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord.”
Christ’s church could use a few more men like Dariush who know that truth.
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