No.4-ranked UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush gave his thoughts on the UFC 291 main event, which is the rematch between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.
Dariush will face the man that beat both Poirier and Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, in the co-main event of the next pay-per-view, UFC 289.
In an interview with Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith on the former middleweight champion’s YouTube show, the Iranian-American fighter spoke about the dangers of Justin Gaethje’s striking.
Beneil Dariush said:
“That Justin [who fought Rafael Fiziev] is going to be a problem for anybody. Especially with the fact that a jab from him hurts. Bro, the guy can throw a jab and he can hurt you, you know? The last round with Fiziev, he threw a bunch of jabs and he busted up Fiziev. That’s incredible.”
Dariush had high praise for both Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, but picked Gaethje to win the fight:
“I think Justin can do this, I think he’s hungrier. I think he’s gotten better in terms of defense and footwork.”
Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier will compete for the vacant BMF title, as previous incumbent Jorge Masvidal retired from the sport after UFC 287. The rematch between ‘The Diamond’ and ‘The Highlight’ will be the headliner fight in an incredibly stacked UFC 291 card in August.
Skip to 1:27:03 for Beneil Dariush’s thoughts on the UFC 290 BMF title fight:
Does a win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 289 mean title contention for Beneil Dariush?
Beneil Dariush has what will be perhaps the toughest test of his career so far in a bout against former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 289. Dariush is currently riding an eight-fight win streak going into the fight with ‘do Bronx’.
Dariush is an extremely credentialed MMA fighter, with a black-belt in jiu-jitsu under the legendary Romulo Barral. He also has a black belt in Muay Thai under Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA, where he trains alongside interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez and Kelvin Gastelum.
In his last fight, against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280, Dariush showed excellent takedown defense and scrambling ability, while dominating the Polish fighter in the striking department. With his well-rounded fighting ability on display against Gamrot, Dariush could potentially find a victory against the ever-dangerous Charles Oliveira.
A dominant win over ‘do Bronx’ could put Beneil Dariush right in the title-contention picture.