Sean Sherk, Nik Lentz, TJ Grant and Rick Glenn. All tough guys, and the type Dunham likes to test himself again. Dariush falls into that category as well.
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“I asked for Dariush because I honestly believe he’s one of the toughest in the division,” he said. “I think he’s very underrated and very talented, and a win over him is going to confirm to myself that I need to push hard to try to get to where I know I can be.”
That place is at the top of the lightweight division, and Dunham knows that the time is now to make that run. A five-fight winning streak would give him a nice case for a shot at the belt, and if he gets it, it will have been well earned.
“I think our division makes no sense at all but still is tough,” he laughs. “I’m gonna be one of those guys that when I get my title shot, you’ll look back and say, ‘All right, this guy methodically worked his way through the rankings, like it should be.’”
That’s as old school as it gets, and Dunham wears that veteran badge proudly. It’s allowed him to weather the ups and downs of the sport, and he’s glad he fought through those doubts and bad times to get to where he’s at today.
“My biggest fear in life is looking back and saying, ‘What if?’” he said. “There was a time not too long ago where I was a little burnt from both ends. I wasn’t gonna retire, but I took some time to take some mental inventory. It didn’t take long before I got bored and needed to do something. And the only thing that’s fun for me is training. So I got back in training with the intent not to really jump so hard into anything. But I love training and I do all this work, and I would hate to leave something on the table. I’m not gonna be one of those guys who fights past when they should, but right now, I feel like I’m in a great spot.”
