Josh Thomson tried to make a case for one man in the UFC lightweight division in terms of beating the champ.
The UFC lightweight division is most likely the toughest division to break into the top five. The men at the top of the division are all seasoned veterans and they have been at the top for a while. Now with a new champion at the head of the division, Islam Makhachev, many of the top five have gained new life in the division. Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Beneil Dariush all seem to be one fight away from a tile shot, but former UFC fighter Josh Thomson only sees one of those names making it competitive with Makhachev.
During his UFC career, Thomson fought some of the toughest guys in the lightweight division. He knows firsthand what it takes to be successful in that weight class and now he is going to bat for one man who seems to be continuously overlooked, Beneil Dariush.
Josh Thomson and John McCarthy have conflicting ideas on who could defeat Islam Makhachev at lightweight
Thomson sat down with his “Weighing in” podcast co-host, former MMA referee “Big” John McCarthy to discuss the lightweight division. McCarthy seemed to believe that none of the current top five had a shot at beating the new champion, but Thomson is putting his vote in for Dariush.
“The only guy that’s got a win in there, in that top five in their last fight is Dariush,” McCarthy said. “I just look at it I don’t see any of them truly challenging Islam Makhachev for that title in 2023.”
“The only one being Dariush, that’s it,” Thomson said. “He’s the only one that I think has the style to beat him. You want to know why? He doesn’t fight like a normal fighter, you want to stand and trade with Islam? I’ll take you down. You want to wrestle with me? I’ll stuff your takedowns and force you to stand, Dariush doesn’t give a f-ck where you take the fight.”
Dariush is currently on an eight-fight winning streak. He has been calling for a top-ranked opponent in his next outing but so far it has been unsuccessful. Makhachev will be facing featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski next, but the 145-pound champ has promised a title shot to Dariush should he win. For now, it seems to be a waiting game for many of the top five fighters.
