The UFC lightweight number six, Benil Dariush, commented on the statement of the current UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, who announced himself as an alternate participant in the title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev the day before.
“To be honest, I’m confused,” Dariusz told Sirius XM. “I don’t know if he plays games or the UFC, because they told me that I was a replacement”
According to Dariusz, who will face Mateusz Gamrot on October 22 at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi, this fight was organized only to insure the title fight announced as the main event of the numbered show.
“Initially, that was the point of having another lightweight fight on this card just in case something went wrong, so I don’t understand what’s going on. I’m trying to get to the bottom of it, but ultimately I have a goal, and that’s the Gamroth fight. But I was really sure that I was a substitute participant in the title fight – I was told this in plain text.
Recall that Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira will play for the vacant UFC lightweight championship belt, which the Brazilian lost due to an advantage in the previous fight.
