UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush says he is willing to step up to fight if anything happens to Charles Oliveira or Michael Chandler at UFC 262.

Dariush steps back into the Octagon on May 15 at UFC 262 when he takes on Tony Ferguson in the biggest fight of his career to date. And while Dariush is absolutely not looking past Ferguson by any means, he is aware that he could step in and fight for the belt should anything happen to Oliveira or Chandler before their fight. If anything does happen to Oliveira or Chandler, Dariush is preparing to fight for five rounds or less.

Speaking to Farah Hannoun of MMAJunkie.com, Dariush said that is he excited to fight Ferguson and also be the unofficial backup for the UFC 262 vacant lightweight title bout.

“I’ve been training for five rounds. Just in case, I’ve been training for five rounds for sure because if you think about it logically, Tony is coming off of two losses, so it’s gonna be hard to give him the title shot, and I’m on a six-fight winning streak, so they can toss me in there if one of them falls out. So I’ve been training for five rounds, and I am ready for five rounds,” Dariush said.

“Obviously I don’t wish anyone harm. I hope the title fight happens, and I’m gonna get it. Eventually, everybody’s gonna get it. I’m gonna get after all of them. They can’t get away from me.”

Even if Dariush doesn’t step in on short notice to fight for the belt, there is a good chance that he could get a title shot before year’s end if he has a tremendous performance against Ferguson. With six straight wins, Dariush is closing in on the lightweight division’s elite.

Do you think Beneil Dariush will get by Tony Ferguson at UFC 262?