Tag: UFC 289

Beneil Dariush confident he’d show better version in Charles Oliveira rematch: ‘We fight again, I win’

Beneil Dariush thinks he’d get the better of Charles Oliveira in a rematch.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] thinks he’d get the better of [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] in a rematch.

Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) saw his eight-fight winning streak snapped by Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) with a first-round TKO loss this past May at UFC 289. With the win, “Do Bronx” earned a title shot in a rematch against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 on Oct. 21 in Abu Dhabi.

Although he got the fight down to the mat early, Dariush thinks he had an off-night against Oliveira.

“Yeah, it’s not my first time losing, and it’s not my first time rebuilding back up,” Dariush said on UFC Unfiltered. “I’ve done it before. To be honest with you, I’m not sure why the fight went the way it did. But like, I didn’t feel – something was missing that night.

“I’m going to get that fixed, I’m going to figure it out, and I’m going to show a better version for sure. I really believe, we fight again, I win that fight. So, I have to work hard… He was about as strong as I thought he was going to be.”

Dariush is no stranger to setbacks. He amassed an eight-fight winning streak after going winless in three straight fights, including an upset knockout loss to debutant Alexander Hernandez. Dariush plans on bouncing back in similar fashion.

The 34-year-old pointed to bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as inspiration.

“I could make up so many excuses, right? But then I just take a moment back and look at guys like Aljamain,” Dariush said. “With him and – who was the guy he fought? Marlon Moraes. Look what he did since then. I’m not too stressed out about it. I just know that I can build back up and I could show the world that I am the best.”

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MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month for June: Middleweight title contenders go to war

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.

Nominees

MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month for June: Karine Silva’s savage kneebar

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submission from June 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from June 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for June.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, June 20: Arman Tsarukyan, Larissa Pacheco climb

Arman Tsarukyan and Larissa Pacheco picked up big wins over the weekend, resulting in upward movement in this week’s update.

Two impressive fighters in their respective divisions picked up big wins last weekend and made moves up the ladder.

First, at 2023 PFL 5 on Friday, 2022 season winner [autotag]Larissa Pacheco[/autotag] picked up another first-round finish by making quick work of Amber Leibrock. The quick finish earned her six points and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs as she looks to win back-to-back championships. As a result, she climbs to the No. 2 spot in the women’s featherweight division.

Saturday at UFC on ESPN 46, [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] continued his winning ways by finishing Joaquim Silva in the third round. The result marked two in a row, resulting in a bump from the honorable mention to claiming No. 13 in the lightweight rankings.

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings above.

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For UFC champ Islam Makhachev, ‘everything turned upside down’ by Beneil Dariush’s loss

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was looking forward to fighting to Beneil Dariush, but now he’s unsure what comes next.

UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is unsure who’s next for him now that [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] lost.

At UFC 289, streaking top contender Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) was stopped in the first round by Charles Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC), whom Makhachev submitted last October at UFC 280.

After Oliveira’s impressive performance against Dariush, UFC president Dana White said a rematch with Makhachev makes sense, but Makhachev admits he was looking forward to fresh blood.

“The fight was good,” Makhachev said in a recent interview translated by “YukaHero.” “Oliveira won, but I was rooting for Dariush. I thought it would be a new challenge for me. Dariush had eight wins in a row. I don’t know. I can’t say yet if my next fight will be a rematch against Charles. We have to wait. Now Justin (Gaethje) and Dustin (Poirier) will fight, and then the UFC will decide.

“Of course, I want a new name on my resume. It’ll be better for me. If Oliveira will not fight me now, everyone will say that I am avoiding him. I never choose my opponents. I will fight anyone the UFC gives me. I don’t think he can do anything. I’m not afraid of his grappling like the rest of the fighters. I can take him down at any time.”

Another fighter looking to run things back with Makhachev is featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who took him to the brink in a decision loss at UFC 284 in February.

“Volkanovski is exactly the same,” Makhachev said. “If they offer a rematch with Volkanovski, I will gladly accept it. I have said many times that I would be much better prepared if there were no nuances associated with the conduct of this tournament, acclimatization and so on.”

If Makhachev could pick, he prefers former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier, who rematches Justin Gaethje for the “BMF” title in the UFC 291 headliner on July 29.

“I don’t know, maybe Poirier,” Makhachev said. “He has a big name in the UFC. Dariush lost, everything turned upside down. I can’t say anything for now. If he had beat Oliveira, it would have been a good fight. Dariush’s skills were highly appreciated. It would have been a good fight.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Beneil Dariush: Charles Oliveira does much better in Islam Makhachev rematch but it’s still a ‘hard fight for him’

Beneil Dariush still expects Charles Oliveira to struggle against Islam Makhachev.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] still expects [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] to struggle against [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].

Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) stopped Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) by Round 1 TKO this past Saturday at UFC 289, rebounding from his lopsided submission loss to Makhachev at UFC 280.

By snapping Dariush’s win streak, Oliveira emerged as a title contender and could run things back with lightweight champion Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) at UFC 294 on Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s a tough fight for Charles, to be honest with you,” Dariush told Submission Radio. “Because when I grabbed him, in terms of wrestling, he tried something that I was like, ‘Why would you do that?’ He tried so hard to lift and finish the takedown, he put himself on his back and ended up like pulling guard. So, in terms of grappling and wrestling specifically, I still see too many holes in his game.”

Oliveira was able to avoid heavy damage from Dariush on the ground and stunned him on the feet for the finish. But against Makhachev, Oliveira wasn’t able to mount any offense, and Dariush just sees Makhachev as a bad matchup.

“In terms of striking, man, I honestly didn’t get a good feel for him,” Dariush added. “I felt a little bit of his speed, a little bit of his timing. I agree with you guys: He does have a good amount of power, but like, obviously I think he’s going to do better than last time. Let me put it that way: I think he’s going to do much better than last time, but I still think it’s going to be a hard fight for him against Makhachev.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Firas Zahabi: Beneil Dariush was off at UFC 289, Islam Makhachev will ‘put the pain’ on Charles Oliveira in rematch

Firas Zahabi doesn’t expect a rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira to go any differently than the first fight.

Firas Zahabi doesn’t expect a rematch between [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] and [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] to go any differently than the first fight.

Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) scored a dominant submission of Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) to claim the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280, snapping Oliveira’s 11-fight winning streak.

This past Saturday in the UFC 289 co-main event, Oliveira rebounded with a first-round TKO of the streaking [autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag], which put him as a frontrunner for a title shot. But Zahabi said he didn’t see anything too different from Oliveira, who will have to change his approach in a potential rematch against Makhachev.

“It wouldn’t work against Makhachev. Makhachev would put the pain on him,” Zahabi said on his YouTube channel. “Makhachev would possibly even sub him. He should have been in there showing us he can beat a Makhachev.

“It’s not gonna be that exciting of a pre-fight analysis or a buildup to the fight. It might not be, because he kind of looked like he’s doing the same formula. I don’t think it works against Makhachev.”

The Tristar Gym head coach admits he was surprised with Dariush’s (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) performance against Oliveira, and expected a lot more from him.

“He underperformed, he’s way better than that,” Zahabi said. “I’m a big fan of Dariush, and I remain a big fan. I just feel something was off that night. I don’t know what it was. I didn’t talk to him. I saw him at the fights, we said hello.

“I feel he underperformed. He could do so much better, especially when a guy pulls guard within the first few seconds of the fight. He just grabs onto you and pulls guard. Something was off in my opinion. I don’t know what it was, but he had a golden opportunity, and he just couldn’t seize it.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Beneil Dariush: ‘I’m not broken, and I’m not ashamed’ of UFC 289 loss to Charles Oliveira

Beneil Dariush vows not to be deterred after his setback to Charles Oliveira at UFC 289, saying “I’ll become a champion another day.”

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] vows not to be deterred after his setback against [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag].

Dariush (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) had his winning streak snapped by Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event. Dariush was able to get top control on the ground but was stunned standing, and finished toward the end of Round 1.

It was a disappointing performance for Dariush, who entered the fight as the favorite, but he chalked it up to a bad night.

“I watched it back, and I just know that’s not the best version of me,” Dariush told Submission Radio. “I don’t know. For whatever reason that day I was not on. I can’t explain it. I’m not gonna give too many excuses because I don’t want to take from Charles. He was the better man that night. He had a great victory. But that was definitely not the best version of me.”

Dariush says he received a ton of support after the loss, but he isn’t taking it as heavily as his prior one to Alexander Hernandez, which had him contemplating retirement.

“Obviously I had a disappointing result,” Dariush said. “It’s not what I wanted. But I’m not broken, and I’m not ashamed.”

Dariush lost out on a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after amassing an eight-fight winning streak. But the 34-year-old is not giving up on his title aspirations.

“I had my moment in the shower where I was just super sad and on the verge of tears,” Dariush said. “But then I got out of the shower, looked at my family, grabbed my two daughters, and I walked out like I’m gonna live to fight another day, and I’ll become a champion another day. It won’t be today.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Aljamain Sterling: Charles Oliveira in lightweight GOAT debate with Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC bantamweight champ Aljamain Sterling thinks Charles Oliveira should be included in any conversation about the greatest lightweight of all time.

UFC bantamweight champion [autotag]Aljamain Sterling[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] should be included in any conversation about the greatest lightweight of all time.

To many, that title is currently held by undefeated former UFC champ [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], but Sterling sees former champ Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) closing the gap.

“Greatest of all time, the GOAT, what’s the criteria for that?” Sterling asked on his YouTube channel. “Is it just accolades? Because if it’s just accolades, Charles Oliveira has a pretty damn good resume. From title defenses, style points on finishes, been in the game longer.”

Oliveira made quick work of the streaking Beneil Dariush in this past Saturday’s UFC 289 co-main event and now holds finishes over every fighter currently in the UFC’s top-five lightweight rankings. His 20 UFC finishes is also the record for most stoppage wins in company history.

Based on his resume and his past 11-fight winning streak, which was snapped by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, Sterling makes a case for “Do Bronx.”

“So for me, I think he has to be within that conversation,” Sterling added. “You have to include Charles Oliveira in that against Khabib. The next best thing right now seems like it’s Makhachev closing in. I’m really looking at title defenses and then winning streak, as well.

“Not like your entire career, I’m talking like in the UFC. Getting those type of win streaks in the UFC, it’s very difficult to do. And seeing someone bounce back from an ‘L’ the way that Oliveira has done time and time again in his career, there’s something to be said about that.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 289.

Brandon Moreno confident Irene Aldana will bounce back, offers advice on overcoming UFC 289 title loss

Brandon Moreno believes the pressure Irene Aldana faced at UFC 289 might’ve got to her.

Mexico fell short in its quest for a fourth UFC title.

In the biggest fight of her career, [autotag]Irene Aldana[/autotag] had arguably her worst showing, losing a lopsided decision against two-division UFC champion Amanda Nunes in the main event of UFC 289 this past Saturday.

Immediately after the bout, Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) announced her retirement, while Aldana (14-6 MMA, 7-4 UFC) had no option but to endure the criticism of fans and pundits.

[autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag], who’s the first Mexico-born fighter to hold a UFC belt, thinks the world didn’t get to see the real version of Aldana that night at UFC 289.

“I don’t know if the best Irene that day would’ve beat Amanda Nunes, but what I do know is that Irene has looked way better in other fights,” Moreno told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “She’s done a lot more. This time around she looked off, she looked hesitant, and she didn’t want to let her hands go. But damn, you also need to remember that we’re human beings at the end of the day.”

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In a short statement the day after the fight, Aldana hinted at the mental aspect hindering her performance, while saying she “already identified this blockage” and promising it won’t happen again.

Moreno doesn’t want to make any excuses for Aldana but knows the pressure was at an all-time high given who she was fighting, what she was fighting for, and the moment in which she was attempting to capture a UFC title.

“Imagine you’re the main event of a pay-per-view, you’re fighting for a title, you have thousands of people in the arena, all the media on fight week, and the pressure,” Moreno said. “I imagine the pressure of, ‘Look, Brandon Moreno is champion. Alexa won the title. Yair won the title, too. We want the fourth. You can do it, Irene.’ And all that. I also think this is extra pressure.

“You do have to take responsibility as an athlete, the pressure is always going to be there, and you need to do your job regardless of the circumstances, but yeah, I do think it was the mental aspect.

“At the end of the day, you have nothing left but to do what she said: Get yourself together, stand back up, and do whatever is necessary to move forward. I think she can achieve it. It was a bad night. Unfortunately, a bad night for us means catastrophe. Us having a bad night is terrible. It’s losing a fight after months of preparation.”

But what’s done is done, and Moreno thinks it’s crucial for Aldana to turn the page and start looking at how she can get back to the belt. If “The Assasin Baby” could give Aldana any advice, he would tell her to just brush herself off and keep going.

“I think the easiest thing and the best thing that I could tell her is to do everything possible to turn the page,” Moreno explained. “That happened. Take with you the things that you need to improve on, obviously, and study and look at the mistakes you made, but turn the page.

“Don’t stay with, ‘Oh, man, I failed. Oh, man, I disappointed the people.’ At the end of the day, it’s just you. At the end of the day, win or lose, it’s just you and the people who really love you and appreciate you. Get rid of worrying about what people say and judgements, and turn the page and move forward. Rest up a little bit and go back to the gym.”

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