Beneil Dariush has revealed that he is expected to be the backup for the lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280.
Dariush also has a fight on the UFC 280 card, as he will be taking on Mateusz Gamrot in a three round bout in Abu Dhabi. The card is stacked up to be one the best events of the year, and of all time. Dariush has claimed that he will be filling in for Oliveira or Makhachev, if one of them were to miss weight the day before, or if someone unfortunately gets injured.
In his last championship bout against Justin Gaethje, Oliveira missed weight by a half pound and was forced to vacate his title. Oliveira claimed that he had made weight the night before and the day of. He claimed that he made weight backstage on a digital scale, and even had other people claiming that either the digital scale in the back was off, or the scale fighters weigh in on was off. Oliveira ended up winning the bout, but unfortunately was not the lightweight champion anymore.
Beneil Dariush claims that his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told him to stay ready
“That’s what Ali told me, I was the backup for this,” Dariush claimed in an interview. “If something goes wrong, they would put me in.” (Transcribed by MMAFighting).
If something were too happen, Dariush would have to shed an extra pound to make championship weight. He claims that will not be a problem, as he is gearing up for a three round fight.
“Yeah, of course. It’s not that hard. I make 156. Last time in Texas [UFC 262], I was pretty much 155 when I fought.”
Dariush has been on a seven fight winning streak, and could be next for a title fight. He has not fought since May of 2021, as he was scheduled to fight Makachev, but he had to pull out due to an ankle injury he sustained.