In his ideal world, Beneil dariush would fight for UFC 280. the lightweight title. But he’ll still make weight at 155 pounds as the backup to the main event between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
As he gets ready for his fight against Mateusz Gambrot on the Oct. 22, Dariush stated that he was told by his trainer to be prepared in the event of an injury to one of the main-event fighters.
“That is what Ali [Abdelaziz] said to me. I was the back-up for that,” Dariush stated in an interview with MMA Fighting. “If something goes wrong, they would put me in.”
In recent years, UFC either booked a fight in the same weight category or hired a back-up fighter in order to prevent high-profile events from unraveling in the days before the show.
The practice was prominent during the pandemic when athletes, coaches or teammates tested positive for COVID-19, forcing numerous last-minute changes to events. Now, the UFC employs a just-in-case-of-emergency strategy as a safety valve to prevent the loss of a marquee main event.
While he’s getting ready for Gamrot as part of the undercard, Dariush will have no problem cutting the extra pound required for a title fight; he faced a similar situation when he competed on the same card as Oliveira, who at UFC 262 faced Michael Chandler for the vacant lightweight title.
“Yeah. [I’ll make 155 pounds],” Dariush also said. “It’s not that hard. I made 156. When I fought in Texas [at UFC 262],, I was pretty much 155 the last time.
“What actually happened? I was able to get on the UFC scale. It’s digital and it read 155. 2 and I was like OK, and I had underwear on. I got on the one from the athletic commission, they use the weights on the scale, and I got on that one and he was like 156.2. It was like, what? Then I was like, what? The whole thing was stupid. The whole thing was stupid.
Prior to an ankle injury that forced him out of action, Dariush was scheduled to face Makhachev in a February title eliminator. He’s also been previously booked to face Oliveira, and that only bolsters his confidence if he does get the call to compete in the main event at the last second.
“I just prepare,” Dariush said. I prepare for Mateusz Gamrot, and it takes three rounds to complete five rounds. It’s just about pacing myself. For three rounds, I just get to go nuts for three rounds. You can push me as far as you want. Five rounds I will pace the fight a bit longer. If you want to fight five rounds, then you can enjoy the time there.
” When you prepare for Islam and Charles, it is important that you are as proficient as possible in striking, timing, wrestling and all the other aspects. The rest will fall into place. It’s all going to take care of itself.”
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