Kicking off the PPV main card tomorrow night at UFC 322 is a really intriguing matchup in the lightweight division. Top contenders will battle it out to cement a spot in the top ten as 8th ranked Beneil Dariush (23-6-1) takes on 13th ranked Benoit Saint-Denis (15-3).
This fight is still going down, but Dariush is giving 20% of his purse to Saint-Denis after missing weight earlier this morning. Starting with Dariush, he’s looking to win his second fight in a row. Dariush became a legit title contender between 2018 and 2022 when he won eight fights in a row.
That led him to being a favorite over former champ Charles Oliveira. Dariush was ultimately stopped by Oliveira and then he drew Arman Tsarukyan in his next fight who also finished him. After that, Dariush took a year and a half off before returning this past summer and defeating Renato Moicano.
About a year ago, Moicano had dominated and defeated Benoit Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis rose up the ranks with five straight finishes and he earned a title eliminator against Dustin Poirier in 2024. After a hot start, BSD faded and was stopped by Poirier. He then looked completely flat and lost to Moicano later that year.
Back in May at UFC 315, he returned to winning form with a submission win. Then, he fought at UFC Paris against the surging Mauricio Ruffy and he dominated that fight ending with a second round submission.
UFC 322 Prediction
Beneil Dariush is making this prediction really tough for me. A few years ago, I really wouldn’t think that hard about this. I would be picking Dariush all day. We know the power that Dariush has and we’ve seen his incredible grappling and scrambling on display against the likes of Mateusz Gamrot.
However, I’m wondering if he’s slowing down. He looks much older than he is, but he didn’t look that sharp against Moicano over the summer. He also got dropped by Moicano so you have to wonder what his chin is like entering UFC 322.
On paper and on pure skill at their best, I like Dariush. However, I’m going with Saint-Denis as my pick in this one. I think he’s hungrier and I think you’ll see a very aggressive Benoit Saint-Denis. Dariush is going to defend takedowns and his power is going to be there, but I think the volume of work and pressure is going to lead to a BSD win at Madison Square Garden.
Prediction: Benoit Saint-Denis by Decision
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