Nothing Would Force Beneil Dariush to Fight Dustin Poirier Over Arman Tsarukyan, and Here’s Why

Beneil Dariush was unbeaten in the UFC before his fight with former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. The fighters squared off at UFC 289, where The Bronx won convincingly. However, the Iranian-American is all focused on his upcoming match with Arman Tsarukyan.

In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Dariush explained why Tsarukyan is a better fighter than Poirier. Dariush always wanted to fight Poirier and had called him out previously. However, due to the lack of interest shown by The Diamond, the fight did not materialize. Now, the 33-year-old is all set to fight Tsarukyan in his next battle. 

I will always fight the tougher guy: Beneil Dariush

The fight between Dariush and Oliveira was scheduled for UFC 288. However, with Oliveira’s injury, the battle was postponed to UFC 289. ‘The Bronx’ defeated Dariush and reclaimed the throne of the lightweight champion. Now, the 33-year-old is preparing for a fight between him and Arman Tsarukyan. December 3 is marked as the date for the clash. 

Dariush previously made it clear that he wants to fight Poirier. However, the match did not happen as Poirier focused on other opponents. In the YouTube video, Dariush said:’ ‘No, the way I look at it, Dustin makes more sense regarding rankings, visibility, and everything. But on paper, Arman is a better fighter; he has better grappling skills and is younger; he is hungrier .’

“On paper, he is a better fighter. If we talk about visibility, I would pick Dustin Poirier. If we talking about who’s the tougher challenge, I would pick Arman. And that’s my opinion. I might need to be corrected about this. If you would give me a preference to pick a fight, I will always fight the tougher guy,” he asserted.

The Iranian-American is focused on his upcoming fight and denied any matches with Poirier. The 34-year-old has had a wonderful career to date. His last battle with Oliveira did not go as planned, and he was beaten convincingly. It will be interesting to see how he lines up against a much younger opponent and one of the division’s rising stars.

Will the Iranian fighter come out on top in his next fight? 

Before his defeat at the hands of Oliveira, Dariush was on an eight-fight winning streak. However, people constantly criticize the Iranian for his failure to defeat any top-ranked fighters. His loss to Oliveira cemented this fact, as he faced one of the most significant losses of his career. Although the Iranian did manage to beat Ferguson two years back, the fans believe ‘El Cucuy’ was already past his best. 

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While the bout represents Dariush’s chance to come back from the most devastating loss of his career, it also marks the chance for Tsarukyan to test his skills against a top-ranked lightweight. The 27-year-old previously fell short against Mateusz Gamrot and Islam Makhachev. Will he step to the occasion this time round? Who will win the fight? Let us know about it in the comments below.

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