Two Lightweight contenders square off at UFC Austin

Beneil Dariush has not had a great year after his previous fight ended in disaster when he lost to Charles Oliveira by first-round TKO at UFC 289, additionally stopping his eight-fight winning streak.

His last two victories ended by Unanimous Decision as he defeated the current #6 Lightweight contender, Mateusz Gamrot, at UFC 280 and former UFC Interim Lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, at UFC 262.

Dariush is not shy from ending a fight by finish as he has earned five knockout victories and eight submission wins in his MMA career, proving to be a tough competitor for the Lightweight division.

The Iran-born fighter is currently third for the most wins in the UFC Lightweight division as he is tied with Gleison Tibau. A win against Tsarukyan will put him second for most victories, which will mean he is joint second with UFC legend, Donald Cerrone. If successful at UFC Austin, he may move up to the #3 contender spot after Dustin Poirier's recent knockout loss at UFC 291.

Arman Tsarukyan has not been as active as he was last year with is most recent fight ending victoriously by third-round TKO against Joaquim Silva at UFC Vegas 75.

With nine fights in the UFC, Tsarukyan has only lost twice, both by Unanimous Decision, as one of them was on his debut against the current Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, and the other against the current #6Lightweight contender, Mateusz Gamrot.

Like Dariush, Arman aims to finish a fight as he has earned eight knockout wins as well as five submission victories. The rest of of his glorious results have ended by Unanimous Decision with the 20 wins he has in his MMA career.

The Armenian fighter is the #8 Lightweight contender and with a win against Beneil Dariush, he will rise up to #4 in the Lightweight rankings and become a very noticed fighter not just in the division but in the UFC.

Other fights you should look out for

Clay Guida vs Joaquim Silva - Guida fights for the 36th time in the UFC after his most recent fight ended with a defeat by Unanimous Decision. Silva will look to bounce back against one of the most heavy-experienced fighters in the MMA promotion after losing by TKO in his last fight against main eventer, Arman Tsarukyan.

Sean Brady vs Kelvin Gastelum - Brady has not fought since at UFC 280 where his undefeated MMA record came to an end when he lost by TKO against Belal Muhammad. Gastelum last fought at Welterweight in 2016 when he defeated former UFC Welterweight champion, Johnny Hendricks. Gastelum not only has a chance to enter the Welterweight rankings but get into the top 10 with just one fight as Sean Brady is the current #8 Welterweight contender.

Rob Font vs Deiveson Figueiredo - Font has had a very mixed year with a win and a loss in 2023 with a KO victory against Adrian Yanez at UFC 287 and a Unanimous Decision loss against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Nashville. Figueiredo is a former two-time UFC Flyweight champion as he looks to step up to a new challenge in the Bantamweight division. With Font being the #8 Bantamweight contender, Deiveson has the opportunity to enter the rankings and potentially get closer to earning a title shot.

Jalin Turner vs Bobby Green - Turner last competed at UFC 290, losing a Split Decision in an entertaining fight against Dan Hooker. 'The Hangman' was originally meant to fight Bobby Green but the #12 Lightweight contender will be the replacement for the Co-Main Event. Green has seemingly had a fantastic year as despite having a fight ending in a No Contest against Jared Gordon, he has been victorious as he knocked out Grant Dawson in under a minute in his most recent fight and submitted Tony Ferguson at UFC 291.

The Moody Center is the venue that will host UFC Austin. The last time the UFC visited Austin, Texas was when Josh Emmett defeated Calvin Kattar by Split Decision back in June 2022.