Alex Volkanovski is bound to be disappointed: UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush has revealed that he’s the backup for the main event at UFC 280. The main card will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, but Dariush – who is preparing to fight Mateusz Gamrot on the same card – told MMAFighting that the UFC will put him in should anything go wrong with the main card.
“That’s what [my manager] Ali [Abdelaziz] told me, I was the backup for this. If something goes wrong, they would put me in.”
Dariush Reveals That He’s Backup For UFC 280
Backup fighters have come to the fore in recent years, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been common practise for some time for the UFC to inform fighters of the same weight class as the main event – particularly title fights – that they could be called up as understudy. In fact, back in 2016, Michael Bisping earned the UFC middleweight title when he stepped up to replace Chris Weidman at short notice, defeating then-champion Luke Rockhold by first-round knockout.
Beneil Dariush says he’ll have no problem making weight for the fight, as he’s had minimal issues reaching the 155-pound limit before. This may well be a thinly veiled dig at Charles Oliveira, who concede the lightweight title thanks to a half-pound weight miss in his latest title defense.
“Yeah, of course [I’ll make 155 pounds]. It’s not that hard. I make 156. Last time in Texas [at UFC 262], I was pretty much 155 when I fought.
What happened was, I got on the scale with the UFC scale, it’s a digital scale, it said 155.2 and I was like OK, and I had underwear on. I got on the one from the athletic commission, they use the weights on the scale, and I got on that one and he was like 156.2. I was like what? So I had to go back and cut a little bit more weight. The whole thing was stupid. So I’m planning on making 155 just like last time.”
Although an ankle injury forced him out of action, Beneil Dariush’s approach to the fight is simple: he will prepare.
“I just prepare. I prepare for a guy like Mateusz Gamrot and three rounds, five rounds, it’s really just pacing yourself. For three rounds, I just get to go nuts for three rounds. I can go as hard as I want. For five rounds, I’ll pace a little bit more. You get to enjoy your time in there if you really want to fight five rounds.
As far as preparing for Islam or Charles, really the way you do that, you be as well-rounded as you can possibly be, in terms of striking, in terms of timing, wrestling, all that stuff, be the best that you can be and then don’t worry about the rest. It’s all going to take care of itself.”
Is Dariush a good backup for UFC 280? Let us know in the comments.
