A potential No. 1 contender match is the latest to join UFC 280.
Top-ranked lightweights Mateusz Gamrot and Beneil Dariush are scheduled to meet in an important bout on the Oct. card. After receiving an initial report from ESPN ., MMA Fighting confirmed Wednesday’s booking.
Dariush is currently the No. 5 ranked lightweight in the world on MMA Fighting’s global rankings, while Gamrot is slotted at No. 8.
Dariush (21-4-1) has been out of action since his dominant May 2021 victory over former UFC interim champion Tony Ferguson. The 33-year-old veteran was expected to meet Islam Makhachev this past February in a No. 1 contender’s fight at UFC Vegas 49, but was ultimately forced to withdraw due to an injury. Dariush won seven consecutive UFC fights.
Gamrot (21-1, 1 NC), likewise, has been red hot since falling short in his 2020 octagon debut. The former KSW two-division champion has won his past four bouts and scored stoppages over Scott Holtzman, Jeremy Stephens, and Diego Ferreira. In his most recent appearance, the 31-year-old Gamrot captured a hard-fought unanimous decision over Arman Tsarukyan to punctuate his first UFC main event.
The Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi will host the
UFC 280. Two title fights will headline the event: Charles Oliveira vs. Makhachev to win the vacant lightweight belt, and Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw to claim Sterling’s bantamweight crown.
MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin helped to create this report.
