Beneil Dariush says Alexander Volkanovski found a lot of holes in Islam Makhachev’s game that Dariush knew would be there.
At UFC 284, Volkanovski was moving up to 155lbs to take on Makhachev and in the lead-up to the scrap, many expected Makhachev to cruise to a win. Yet, that was far from the case as Volkanovski had a ton of success and when the final bell rang, many thought he would get his hand raised but that didn’t happen as it was Makhachev winning a decision.
Although Makhachev did get his hand raised, Dariush – who could be next in line – says the fight confirmed his beliefs about the holes in Makhachev’s game.
Beneil Dariush on Islam Makhachev
“You start to see holes in their games that might not even be there,” Dariush told MMA Junkie Radio. “You’re only seeing these holes because these inhuman men are colliding, these great fighters colliding, so you start to see these things. I thought it was a great fight from both perspectives. Volkanovski just confirmed my beliefs because I didn’t really have any tape on him besides the Tsarukyan fight, but Volkanovski was able to confirm my beliefs on what I thought his game was lacking and what exactly I could take advantage of.”
As of right now, Beneil Dariush does not have his next fight booked but is linked to facing Charles Oliveira. Should Dariush win, he would get the next title shot and he believes he would finally prove to everyone that he is not only the best lightweight alive but the best pound-for-pound fighter.
“I thought they were both great,” Beneil Dariush said. “An unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, it felt like that. These are very good fighters. Some might say No. 1 and No. 2. The only reason I don’t say that because I believe I’m the best in the world. So they’re some of the best fighters coming at each other.”
