UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush believes Arman Tsarukyan has the potential to take over the division in the upcoming fight against Islam Makhachev. The two will likely fight a lightweight title match later this year. Dariush did a recent interview where he talked about the odds of the fight and who will be the likely winner.
Beneil Dariush recently answered some questions from reporters at the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame red carpet. During this interview, Dariush talked about who he would pick to likely win between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. According to ‘Benny’, the Dagestani champion will likely retain the title although it will definitely be a close fight.
I would favor Islam, like a 60-45 or a 55-45. It’s going to be a close fight. I think Makhachev is better at energy conservation.
Beneil Dariush at the 2024 UFC Hall of Fame red carpet
Dariush believes Tsarukyan “looked really good” against Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. Dariush said Oliveira is a difficult fight for most people, and since Tsraukyan was able to pull it off, he has a really good chance against the Dagestani champion.
‘Benny’ has previously shared the octagon with the Armenian at UFC on ESPN 52. The fight lasted about a minute and Tsarukyan walked away with the win by KO. Tsarukyan and Makhachev too have previously fought in 2019 at UFC Fight Night 149. It was Tsarukyan’s debut fight in the UFC and he lost via unanimous decision. It will be interesting to see how this fight turns out in 2024.
Alexander Volkanovski recalls the difficult circumstances under which he fought Islam Makhachev
Alexander Volkanovski recently sat down for a conversation with Israel Adesanya‘s brother on his podcast. During their conversation on the ‘FREESTYLEBENDER’ YouTube channel, Volkanovski revealed what he was going through before accepting the rematch with Islam Makhachev.
Alexander Volkanovski talks about what happened before Islam Makhachev rematch (Image via Imago)Volkanovski had previously fought the lightweight champion at UFC 284. It was a close fight that went the distance but the Dagestani won via unanimous decision. However, it went completely south for Volkanovski at UFC 294 who could not even make it past the first round and got knocked out cold in the rematch.
Before the second Islam fight, going through a bit of a rough patch there, a bit of that was because I wasn’t in the gym through injury. Obviously, we’d had the newborn and that as well.
Alexander Volkanovski on the ‘FREESTYLEBENDER’ YouTube channel
The former champion revealed how he could not switch his brain off from fighting. He was constantly thinking about his remaining time in the sport and whether he should be in the gym and all things similar. The Australian said it was hard for him to find real purpose in the gym unless he was training for a fight.
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