UFC 285 fighter Mateusz Gamrot backs a former opponent to beat Islam Makhachev (Exclusive)
Islam Makhachev's championship reign at lightweight has begun strong with one title defense against the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. However, fellow lightweight Mateusz Gamrot believes Beneil Dariush possesses the skills to beat the Russian.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch, Gamrot picked Dariush from the long list of contenders in the lightweight division to stand a chance of beating the champion.
Gamrot mentioned Dariush's well-rounded skillset on the ground and his striking on the feet as important factors. He also referenced his own matchup with Dariush while vouching for him.
Gamrot said:
“I don’t know. My dream fight is fight with Islam [Makhachev], you know. But I think Beneil Dariush has a lot of chance to beat Islam, you know. Because Beneil show high level skills in the wrestling during our fight. He has really hard punch, really good jiu-jitsu skills like former world champion. And I think Beneil has really big chance to win with Islam.”
Mateusz Gamrot faced off against Beneil Dariush at UFC 280, the same card on which Islam Makhachev won his title against Charles Oliveira. Dariush won his eighth straight fight that night, but refused to make an outright callout to the potential winner of the main event.
'Gamer', meanwhile, will face Jalin Turner this weekend at UFC 285 and look to climb higher than his current No.7 ranking by securing a victory and a strong performance to go with it.
Check out Mateusz Gamrot's exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA on our official YouTube channel:
Dana White is against an immediate Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski rematch
Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski put on a very close contest at UFC 284 in Perth. The two top P4P fighters delivered on the night and justified the champion vs. champion matchup.
Volkanovski's performance more than warranted a rematch, according to many fans, and the two fighters mutually agreed to it backstage too.
However, UFC president Dana White does not like the idea of an immediate rematch. He mentioned his take on calls for a seonc go-around in a press conference after UFC Vegas 70:
“I mean, listen, I don’t know. We didn’t make any fights yet. There are a lot of different things that play out in making these fights, you know. Timing, injuries, personal stuff, whatever it might be. But yeah, to me, the fight that makes sense is to make Yair versus Volkanovski, Islam versus somebody whenever that happens. And then you do the rematch.”
With that, it is highly likely that Islam Makhachev will face one of the many lightweight contenders, possibly Beneil Dariush should he defeat Charles Oliveira, before a rematch against the Australian.
Check out Dana White's comments below:
Dana White says it makes sense to do Volkanovski/Yair first and Islam versus a contender and then do the rematch. https://t.co/KffK0ozCmS