"If he's willing to vacate the 145lbs belt, it makes sense" – Beneil Dariush weighs in on Alexander Volkanovski potentially cutting ahead of him for lightweight title shot
Beneil Dariush recently gave his opinion on Alexander Volkanovski's possible move to the lightweight division.
After settling score with Max Holloway in their trilogy fight at UFC 276, Volkanovski expressed interest in making a move to the 155lbs division. During an appearance on the Australian UFC show Fight Week on Fox, 'The Great' said (quote from 3:52):
"I’m in a position now where I want to take my best options. What’s the best route for me and things like that. Obviously lightweight — I’ve been talking about wanting to do that, and I didn’t wait until I went out there and finished that chapter with Max to really call for it."
You can check out Volkanovski's appearance on Fight Week on Fox below:
In a recent interview with The Schmo, Dariush weighed in on Volkanovski's possible move to lightweight. 'Benny' asserted that 'The Great' would need to vacate his featherweight title to fight for 155lbs gold:
"He actually does have the credentials. But what I don't understand is like bro holding two belts is not the same thing like for Amanda Nunes, she can defend both belts. But for him to do that he's gotta be fighting every three months... If he's willing to vacate the 145, I think it might make sense. If he doesn't want to vacate, then honestly it doesn't make sense."
You can check out Dariush's full interview with The Schmo below:
Beneil Dariush wants Charles Oliveira to be the P4P king if he defeats Islam Makhachev at UFC 280
In his upcoming fight against Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira is all set to reclaim the title belt which he was forced to vacate after allegedly failing to make weight at UFC 274.
Should he win the title, Beneil Dariush believes that the Brazilian should be named the promotion's pound-for-pound king:
"If Islam wins, it's hard because it'll be... This is the first ranked guy he's fought. But, on the other hand, Charles Oliveira has fought so many ranked guys and beat so many ranked guys. So I think if Islam wins he's definitely top 5 or even top 3 in the pound-for-pound [rankings]. But I think if Charles wins, he's number one."
Check out Beneil Dariush's comments below: