Winner of Tsarukyan Giagos would make sense for Gregor as well, Arman is already in the top 15. Or maybe Moises. But I agree would be nice to have him fight again soon.
Still interested to see what Ferguson does too, would like to see him fight Hooker if Hooker can stop his skid with his upcoming fight
What does Dariush do? Knowing the ufc it’s likely the winner of Gaethje Chandler gets the next shot after Poirier, unless Olives and Mike both win…but even then they may favour a rematch over Dariush getting a shot. Who can he fight that helps him build a name and make his shot undeniable? Does he fight the loser of one of those two fights mentioned?
If Makhachev beats RDA I would not be shocked to see them make Makhachev vs Dariush for the next-next title shot while they do the Oliveira/Poirier winner vs the Gaethje/Chandler winner for the next title fight.
If not, either of those guys, Makhachev or Dariush could face the loser of Gaethje Chandler next or Charles if he were to lose the title to Poirier.
I think Dariush is in a really tough spot. Great winning streak, but when you consider who he beat, that #3 ranking he has looks a little shaky. Here’s what I mean…his two wins over top 10 guys were Ferreira and Ferguson. Ferriera looked like he was going to be great when he ran Pettis over, but seeing what Pettis has done since I think changes my view of it.
Pettis went on to win a super close decision over Cowboy, and that was the 4th loss in a row for Cowboy, and he then looked like shit against Price and Morono…so basically Pettis is the only fight in his last 6 where it went to the scorecards and people were like “I think Cowboy might have this one.” Then Pettis beat Morono (not a top contender by any stretch) and then lost twice in PFL. So Ferreira beating Pettis doesn’t look like as big of a deal as it did before to me. Meaning, regardless of the number next to Anthony’s name at the time, I think its clear he was truly one of the 10 best 155ers in the world when Diego beat him. Diego lost to Dariush then Gillespie.
Beniel’s other win over a contender was over Ferguson, and that was Tony’s 3rd loss in a row and he didn’t win a round in any of those 3. I’m not saying he sucks or anything, but I think it’s tough to be the 3rd guy in a row to dominate one particular dude and end up being ranked 3rd in the world.
Other guys ranked 3rd are guys like Pantoja, Sandhagen, Leon Edwards, Derrick Lewis, and some just fought for the belt, are fighting for it next, or are clearly next in line. I don’t think Dariush fits with these guys. I think he clearly needs one more win for a title shot, and it would feel awkward if Poirier got hurt and Dariush was then booked for the title fight. I don’t think he needs a HUGE win next, but I do think he needs someone else in the top 10.
So the TLDR version, Dariush should fight literally anyone in the top 10, because he’s the least likely guy in the top 5 to get the next title shot. Throw RDA in there too, because if he beats Islam, he’d be more deserving in the eyes of many.
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I can agree with a lot of that. I think Dariush needs another win as well. Islam if he beats RDA would make a lot of sense to determine the next challenger and should work out decently for the title fight time line. It would also have the story of Islam beating someone who Beniel’s close to (as he said he’d never fight RDA because he’s like a brother to him)
I think it’s really hard to earn a title shot by beating a guy who was dominated in the 2 fights prior, regardless of ranking…and the fact that Dariush is probably the least popular guy among the top 5, possibly top 10…he needs at least one more win, and needs to hope the right guys lose.
Even if Chandler wins, if the Gaethje fight is as great as I think it’ll be, and he clearly wins (either a finish or clear decision win) they can do Chandler vs Oliveira again and use the highlights of Chandler nearly finishing him. If Poirier beats Oliveira, then regardless of who wins the Chandler/Gaethje fight, it’s easy to throw the winner in vs Poirier.
If Islam beats RDA (I’m like 90% confident in that) then Islam is likely ahead of Dariush in the pecking order as well. I can’t remember a time where the 3rd ranked guy in any division was this far away from a title shot. That could all change, one injury and he could be next, but if the UFC’s plan works, Dariush potentially is 4th in line behind Poirier, Chandler/Gaethje, Islam. 1 win might not even be enough.
I agree with all points again. With the exception being his next win is over Islam…that would put him in line with one win. That’s no small feat all the same, my guess is Islam is the favourite by oddsmakers over almost anyone right now maybe other than Poirier
Oh, for sure…if Dariush beats Islam, Gaethje, or Chandler, he’ll be fighting for the belt after that.
Big win for Tsarukyan last night. POTN. Quietly amassed a 4-0 streak in the UFC after losing his debut in a hard fought fight where he earned FOTN vs Makhachev.
He is just about to turn 25. Bright future ahead for him in the UFC.
And that fight was just the kickoff for this string of solid LW fights to close out the year and it all culminates with the title fight.
9/18 Tsarukyan Giagos Winner Tsarukyan
9/25 Hooker Haqparast
10/2 Hernandez Santos
10/2 Ferreira Dawson
10/30 Makhachev RDA
10/30 Ismagulov Mustafaev
11/06 Gaethje Chandler
11/06 Green Iaquinta
12/4 Riddell vs Fizaev
12/11 Oliveira vs Poirier for LW title
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Well that sucks, Santos, Ferreira and RDA are all out of their upcoming fights. Lets hope none of these other booked fights get crushed, the MMA gods have done enough. I see Hernandez is rebooked vs Mike Breeden but I’m not gonna sit here and pretend to know who that is. Who knows is Makhachev will get a decent opponent for the 30th. Makhachev vs Dawson would not be terrible but thats fighting down in the rankings once again for Makhachev so he might not accept that one.
It REALLY sucks that Islam and Dariush are managed by the same guy, because that’s the fucking fight to make right now. Number 5 vs number 3, with everyone else in the top 5 booked. If I’m the UFC, I push for that regardless of who manages them.
Seems crazy to me for Islam to be calling out Tony Ferguson while he’s on a 3 fight losing streak, and they’re saying if not him, they want Hooker? Not a bad fight there, but dude just fought and went the distance. I’m not a fan of asking for guys to fight a month after they just had a pretty tough fight (tough as in went the distance, lots of output, will want time to recover etc).
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What’re the thoughts on Hooker/Islam? Props to Dan for having the courage to do it, especially with that kind of notice…but I imagine he’s a big underdog here. Hard not to picture another mauling
Makhachev is a 5-1 favorite. I’d say that is about right. Hooker is game but Makhachev is hitting his stride.
Hooker is a guy who beat Burns, Iaquinta and Felder not too long ago so you know he is facing a real killer in his prime if he finds himself a 5-1 dog.
The odds never reveal who will win but they are very accurate when you look at large groups of fights. One hundred pick-em fights in the UFC will usually see both the A side and B side win around 50% of the time just as with one hundred 4-1 favorites you will see them win around 80% of the time as predicted by the closing odds.
I think Islam wins, but people have short memories…it wasn’t that long ago that Hooker gave Poirier all he could handle. He loses one fight to Chandler and people forget how good the dude is.
But Porier, for as good as he is, poses an entirely different style than Islam. Dustin prefers to stay on the feet. Makhachev is going to take Hooker down and maul him. The biggest question is whether Dan survives to see a decision, IMO.
Got a few opponent changes and this is what we are let with for the rest of the year.
The Makhachev, Gaethje, Fizaev and title fight are the highlights of this run IMO.
10/23 Dawson Glenn
10/30 Makhachev Hooker
10/30 Ismagulov Mustafaev
11/06 Gaethje Chandler
11/06 Green Iaquinta
11/13 Moises Alvarez
12/4 Riddell vs Fizaev
12/11 Oliveira vs Poirier for LW title
Islam isnt going to maul Hooker. Makachev hasn’t fought anyone as good as Dan, and he won’t have a huge size advantage either. Islam wins a lackluster Dec. in all likelihood.
Iaquinta vs Green is a great booking, fun fight between two brawlers, love it.
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Yep, should be good.
13x Of The Night Award winner
Most fights in UFC history
Most wins and 2nd most stoppage wins in UFC LW history
Jim Miller does it again…
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Who is the best wrestler Hooker has fought?