Rafael Fiziev wants UFC to give Beneil Dariush the next title shot irrespective of Justin Gaethje fight outcome
Regardless of the outcome of his upcoming fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC 286, Rafael Fiziev believes the UFC should grant Beneil Dariush the next lightweight title shot.
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Fiziev claimed that Dariush "150 percent" deserves the next shot at the lightweight title. While 'Ataman' believes that an impressive victory over Gaethje should be enough to earn him a shot at the belt, he views the upcoming Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush fight at UFC 288 as the true No.1 contender's bout:
“If I beat him [Justin Gaethje], perfect, nice, everybody likes it, and we make hype, I want to fight for the belt, If Oliveira wins, he goes and fights for the title – he deserves it. Dariush deserves it 150 percent. And if he wins that, I don’t want to stay on his road, because he really deserves it. I can wait. If they give me a fight after Justin, if I make a good fight, if they give me the title shot, I’m happy. If they give it to another guy, I’m also happy because I’m still in a good position.”
Watch the full interview below:
Justin Gaethje and Rafael Fiziev will square off in the co-main event of UFC 286 later this month. They hold the No.3 and No.6 spots respectively in the lightweight rankings. Gaethje is coming off his loss to Charles Oliveira last year, while Fiziev is riding a six-fight win streak.
No.1-ranked Oliveira and No.4-ranked Beneil Dariush are slated to lock horns on May 6th. Former champion Oliveira's last fight was his loss to current titleholder Islam Makhachev, while Dariush is on an eight-fight win streak.
With Makhachev currently without a clear-cut next challenger for his lightweight title, one of the two aforementioned bouts will likely determine the next in line for the belt.
who is next?
Michael Chandler heaps praise on Rafael Fiziev's striking
Michael Chandler recently shared his admiration for Rafael Fiziev's striking in a video posted on the UFC's official YouTube channel.
Chandler, who has trained with Fiziev in the past, went as far as calling him "the most talented striker in all the world." Praising Fiziev's dynamic style, 'Iron' had this to say about the surging lightweight:
“He’s so dynamic, We obviously get to watch him in the octagon and get to see the performances he puts on. He’s very exciting, but I’ve gotten to train with him. When you watch a guy in training, and then you see him translate that perfectly onto his competition, it’s really fun to watch."
Chandler added:
"I think he’s the most talented striker in all the world. Not just the UFC lightweight division. He’s a guy we could see go out there. I think he’s matched up against Justin Gaethje now. That’s going to be a real fun one. I’m really interested to see who wins that one.”
Watch Michael Chandler express his admiration for Rafael Fiziev below: