Beneil Dariush is arguably one of the best lightweight fighters on the UFC’s current roster. He will take on former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 288. Dariush recently appeared in an interview and shared his thoughts on the lightweight title clash between Makhachev and Volkanovski at UFC 284 in Perth.

Dariush has been campaigning for a title shot after amassing an 8-fight winning streak. However, Dana White decided to go ahead and presented him with a great opportunity to fight the former champion ‘Do Bronx’ on May 6th. Dariush has also been mindful of the UFC 284 main event involving Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. He claims that the Dagestan native had impressed him in that fight.

Islam Makhachev impressed Beneil Dariush with his striking skills

‘Benny’ stated that he already predicted how the fight would go. However, one thing that impressed him was Islam Makhachev’s striking skills. In a conversation with Helen Yee, he said, “The one I would say that surprised me was his [Makhachev] striking looked clean.” Dariush added, “I knew his striking was good, but it looked really, really clean in that fight, right? So I was really impressed with his striking.”

Dariush mentions that he knows what it will take to defeat Islam Makhachev and is constantly making assessments. “I just doubled down on what I already believe, you know. I just saw the things that I believed that he [Makhachev] had holes in and things I can take advantage of.” ‘Benny’ is confident that he will be able to take on the Dagestani.

Dariush aiming for a title shot by the end of 2023

Dariush hopes to fight Makhachev until the end of 2023 after he is done with Charles Oliveira. He has mentioned how the fans have been great to him. They have been asking for a title shot for the 8-fight undefeated fighter. ‘Benny’ also mentioned that people who aren’t his fans still believe that he deserves a championship fight.

But the current lightweight champion sustained an injury recently. Makhachev shared some posts on Instagram about his hand, which was swollen while riding a dirt bike. He has not provided any update regarding the injury, but fans are hoping that it isn’t anything serious.

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Dariush’s fight against ‘Do Bronx’ will certainly be the biggest fight of his career. He is confident that Dana White will grant him the title shot after emerging victorious at UFC 288. But there have been a lot of talks about the UFC president not considering him as a marketable fighter. We will have to wait and see what follows.

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