Beneil Dariush knows exactly what Arman Tsarukyan needs to do if he wants to take down lightweight champ Islam Makhachev at UFC 311– focus on his striking. According to him, Tsarukyan’s path to victory lies in sharpening his stand-up game and keeping the fight off the mat.
As someone who’s shared the octagon with Tsarukyan, Dariush understands exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are and believes staying on the ground with Islam would be detrimental to his plans.
The 35-year-old appeared on the ‘Inside Fighting’ YouTube channel for an interview where he broke down the upcoming fight. Dariush warned Tsarukyan of Makhachev’s clever feints and level changes that he consistently uses to pressure his opponents into a defensive position.
“He does a lot of feints and a lot of fakes. And if you don’t meet those he is going to be able to push you back and he is going to be able to put pressure on you just with that. Ultimately to be able to beat him you have to be very well rounded and I would say specialised in striking.”
View this post on Instagram
Dariush went on to add that a good grappler facing Makhachev leads to the grappling being canceled out. However, if a good striker with good grappling takes on Makhachev he has a better chance of securing a win, a criterion in which Tsarukyan fits in according to Dariush.
However, better strikers such as Dustin Poirier have not been able to implement this game plan so it will be interesting to see if Arman can do it.
Meanwhile, Dariush also fights on the same card, but unfortunately has hinted at calling it a day if he doesn’t get the win
Beneil Dariush to call it quits?
It’s been over a year since his last fight, whereTsarukyan knocked him out at UFC Austin in December 2023. Now, the No. 9 ranked UFC lightweight is set to face Renato Moicano at UFC 311 next month at the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Dariush is on a two-fight skid, and this time, the stakes feel even higher. He’s hinted that if things don’t go his way against Moicano, retirement might be on the table.
“I’m not going to fight forever,” Dariush explained.
“I’ll keep going as long as I have the desire and the ability to compete.”
For now, Dariush feels like he’s still got both. He believes he’s improved significantly over the past year but knows this fight is a chance to prove it. However, he remains firm in his stance that if he can’t compete at the absolute top of the lightweight division and fight for titles, there is no point in him competing as a mixed martial artist anymore. He would rather do something else.
