A lightweight title eliminator fight is on the horizon.
Title Shot Looming
It looks like Justin Gaethje’s wishes have come true. Islam Makhachev’s next fight won’t be for UFC gold. Instead, the promotion is handing Makhachev a top 5 opponent, to prove his worth once and for all.
Can Makhachev hang with the absolute best at 155? He will look to answer that question once again when he takes on #3 ranked Beneil Dariush. It will be #3 vs. #4 as both Dariush and Makhachev will fight for a potential UFC title shot.
Brett Okamato of ESPN, would be the first to break the news on Saturday.
26th of February! Apologies. Not a Sunday card. Main event UFC Fight Night on Saturday, Feb. 26.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) November 27, 2021
The Road To The Top
Dariush is coming off a domination of legendary lightweight Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 in May. With that win, Dariush would extend his win streak to 7. Some of the names he has beat includes Diego Ferreira, Drew Dober and Thiago Moises.
‘Benny’ isn’t the only lightweight with an insane win streak however. He will put it all on the line against the surging Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani danger is currently on a 9-fight win streak. His last few wins over Dan Hooker and Thiago Moises would earn him a spot in the UFC’s top 5.
The Storylines
Although, he isn’t getting his wish of competing against the winner of Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier, he is content on fighting once more. He will compete against Dariush in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night on Feb. 26th.
Dariush will look to play spoiler as he usually does, when he takes on the hype behind Islam Makhachev.
The winner of this fight will likely have to wait for a title shot, as it looks like Justin Gaethje has earned another chance at the belt. Gaethje is targeted to take on the winner of Oliveira-Poirier, which happens in December.
Who You Got?
