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Beneil Dariush forgoes surgery, targets return in summer against Islam Makhachev

Beneil Dariush is forgoing surgery on the injured leg that kept him out of his fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC Vegas 49 this past Saturday.

Dariush suffered a broken fibula during a training session and was forced to withdraw from the event. Makhachev met a short-notice replacement in Bobby Green, who he defeated via first-round technical knockout.

Despite the severity of his injury, Dariush has decided to forgo surgery and focus on the physical therapy needed to heal his ankle. The No. 4 ranked lightweight contender spoke to Brett Okamoto of ESPN on Wednesday and revealed that his recovery time will now be a few weeks as opposed to the few months he was preparing for.