UFC 262: Beneil Dariush reveals his pick for Michael Chandler vs Charles Oliveira
UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush will battle it out against former interim titleholder Tony Ferguson in the co-main of UFC 262. A surge in the rankings is certain for Dariush if he emerges victorious come Saturday night.
Ahead of his highly-anticipated co-main event clash, Beneil sat down with Karyn Bryant to give his prediction for the UFC 262 main event. Dariush is of the notion that Oliveira would make easy work of Chandler. He cited the fact that the Brazilian has a significant advantage when it comes to octagon experience:
"I'm leaning towards Charles [Oliveria]. I'm thinking he has so much experience inside the Octagon and the UFC. I know Chandler has his history in Bellator. I understand that and he has five rounds of experience," Dariush said.
Although Michael Chandler is a former Bellator lightweight champion, Beneil Dariush believes the NCAA wrestler will undergo UFC jitters in his second promotional outing:
"UFC is a little bit different. Everybody who has come to the UFC has said, 'Oh man, I wasn't expecting that.' They always talk about the UFC jitters."
Furthermore, since Michael Chandler finished Dan Hooker in the first round at UFC 257, Beneil Dariush believes "Iron" will have a tough time finding his bearings inside the UFC cage:
"It was very quick it was not a five rounds fight. So, I think Charles needs to be patient. For Chandler, he's similar to me has to stick to the basics and go at Charles...I could be wrong," said Beneil Dariush.
Beneil Dariush isn't worried about what the future holds for him
As per many MMA pundits, the UFC 262 co-main event might serve as a title eliminator bout. Despite being at the helm of the division, Beneil Dariush wants to take some time off competition and let the promotion decide what is next.
The BJJ black belt is not concerned about cutting a promo after securing a win over "El Cucuy":
"I'm going to take some time off. I can come back at the end of the year or beginning of the next year. That's the gameplan. So it will be a three-fight year but I don't care. When my time comes, no one is going to stop me," added Beneil Dariush.