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Beneil Dariush believes that Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier are the two guys who should be fighting for the UFC lightweight title instead of Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira.
According to Dariush, Gaethje and Poirier are the two most deserving contenders who should be fighting for the title vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov. But that's not the case, as Dustin Poirier is more interested in a high-stakes trilogy fight against Conor McGregor, likely because of the massive payday that comes with it.
Meanwhile, Justin Gaethje is currently left without an opponent in the top five of the UFC lightweight division. Gaethje and Poirier previously fought each other at UFC on Fox 29, where Poirier won via TKO in the fourth round.
In a recent interaction with SCMP MMA, Beneil Dariush explained why he believes the UFC decided to book Chandler and Oliveira to fight for the title.
According to Beneil Dariush, since Poirier wasn't willing to take the title fight, the promotion decided to go for two guys who don't have a loss against Khabib Nurmagomedov on their record.
Both Poirier and Gaethje have lost against Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 and UFC 254, respectively.
Beneil Dariush also said he believes Michael Chandler should have spent more time inside the Octagon before fighting for the lightweight title. Dariush explained:
"I thought it was going to be Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje but Dustin wants Conor and I guess the reason why they did it is because neither one of those guys have lost to Khabib and that's one of the strong reasons behind it. I'm like okay, I guess it makes sense. I'm not saying Chandler doesn't have the credentials to fight for the belt but I think he should have fought a little bit more in the UFC but that's not my call and I don't really care."
What lies ahead for Beneil Dariush in the UFC?
Beneil Dariush faces a stern test to climb into the top five of the UFC lightweight division as he goes against Tony Ferguson at UFC 262. Although he is on the back of two devastating losses against Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira, Ferguson is still a legitimate threat to any fighter in the division.
