VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Beneil Dariush is confident in a matchup against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Dariush (22-4-1 MMA, 16-4-1 UFC) will emerge as a No. 1 contender if he can get past former champ Charles Oliveira (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event at Rogers Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
If he wins, Dariush gets to face Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, and he believes he can outmatch Makhachev in every aspect of the game.
“I just think there is nothing really that he does that I can’t do better,” Dariush told MMA Junkie and others reporters at UFC 289 media day on Wednesday. “I know people will disagree. They used to say wrestling, I can’t wrestle with these guys, the last fight I showed it.
“Now we’re talking about jiu-jitsu, next is going to be striking. I can do it all, and that’s really what I want to show the world. I could do it all. So, as far as Makhachev goes, I don’t see anything that he does that I can’t do better.”
Makhachev faced arguably the sternest test of his career when he outlasted featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski for his first title defense at UFC 284. Volkanovski ended the fight with a knockdown and top position – adversity we’ve never seen Makhachev face before.
Dariush wasn’t surprised to see Volkanovski take Makhachev to the brink and thinks he would capitalize even more.
“I was pretty confident, but he just reaffirmed what I believed,” Dariush said. “I knew there were things I could take advantage of – similar to Volkanovski, but I think even better because just I have a little bit more jiu-jitsu than Volkanovski, and wrestling as well. I just think I could do it better. It just reaffirmed what I believe and when the time comes, it’ll be my fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.
