Beneil Dariush recently dropped a bombshell. He stated that Dustin Poirier was on the cards as a possible opponent for his upcoming main-event assignment.
However, the fight didn’t materialize. Instead, Dariush (22-5) is now set to face rising contender Arman Tsarukyan (20-3). The face-off is slated as the main event at UFC on ESPN 52. The event is scheduled for this Saturday in Austin, Texas.
Dariush also mentioned that Poirier’s name was brought up as an alternative opponent. Despite this, the fight booking didn’t come to fruition. Dariush shared this tidbit during an interview with Submission Radio.
“They called me for that and they said, ‘Hey, would you be willing?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course. My weight’s good, I’m obviously in camp right now, I can do a fight with Dustin Poirier.’ And they said, ‘Okay, we’ll get back to you.’ It didn’t materialize and then they called me again and they said, ‘Okay, what about Dustin Poirier for December 2?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I just waited and it didn’t materialize.”
Dariush also expressed uncertainty about what happened with Poirier. He said he’d love to hear Poirier’s side of the story. However, no one has asked Poirier about it in interviews, and Poirier himself hasn’t mentioned it.
Interestingly, Dariush believes that while Poirier (29-8) might be the bigger name, Tsarukyan is the tougher fight. “If we’re talking about visibility, I would pick Dustin Poirier. If we’re talking about who’s the tougher challenge, I would pick Arman Tsarukyan and that’s my opinion. So, I’m kind of excited to be fighting Tsarukyan, to be honest with you. I’ll always pick to fight the tougher guy, that’s my goal.”
Dariush is bouncing back from a knockout loss to former champ Charles Oliveira. This defeat ended his eight-fight winning streak. On the other hand, Tsarukyan, also known as “Ahalkalakets”, is on a two-fight win streak. His only promotional losses were against reigning champ Islam Makhachev and top contender Mateusz Gamrot.
The UFC on ESPN 52 event will take place at the Moody Center in Austin on Dec. 2. The 13-fight slate is headlined by the Dariush-Tsarukyan lightweight tilt. Another lightweight scrap featuring Bobby Green against short-notice opponent Jalin Turner is the co-main event.