Islam Makhachev meets his match as he takes on Beneil Dariush in a five-round fight in February later this year. The lightweight contenders will battle it out inside the Octagon to determine the #1 contender in the UFC’s lightweight division. Needless to say, the winner of the fight is expected to fight for the lightweight gold. Charles Oliveira reigns supreme as the UFC’s lightweight champion, and he is expected to face Justin Gaethje in his next fight.
Ahead of what is possibly the toughest fight of Dariush’s career, the Iranian fighter gave his thoughts on the match-up, and what he feels about Islam Makhachev as a fighter. “He’s as complete as you get. He can wrestle, he can do Jiu-Jitsu, and then he can strike, and in all those things he is quite capable.” Dariush said about Islam Makhachev’s fighting style.
Beneil Dariush opined that a lot of Makhachev’s success inside the Octagon comes from his ability to pressure his opponents. He stated that he believes Islam Makhachev is one of the most complete fighters in the division, and it is the lack of ability from the other fighters that has seen him dominate the UFC’s lightweight division up until now.
Beneil Dariush says Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are very different fighters from each other
“I think he is fairly rated, I just don’t think he has fought me,” Dariush concluded when asked about whether he feels Islam Makhachev is overrated. Dariush did not look too confident about getting a title shot next if he gets a win over Makhachev, “With Conor always around the corner. There is always something around the corner, I would assume so, this is a title eliminator. I assume I am going to be fighting for the title if I win this fight, lord knows, I don’t know.”
No doubts after this one❗️ https://t.co/oavHVnTHdp
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) November 27, 2021
Speaking on the comparison between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev, “Stylistically, they are definitely not the same. Both are great fighters, but stylistically they don’t do the same things. You will see Khabib shoot like five to seven times in a round, while Islam will be so accurate with his feints, striking, and he will get that one shot and that one will put you, and then he will be able to hold you. They are not so similar, in my opinion. They have similar techniques, similar goals, but the route they take is not similar.”
Needless to say, it’s an exciting match-up and one that will put Islam Makhahcev against someone who compliments him in terms of both wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu. It will be interesting to see who emerges on top after everything is said and done.
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