The UFC has booked another entertaining fight for their fight card on Super Bowl weekend. First reported by ESPN, lightweights Beneil Dariush (19-4-1) and Diego Ferreira (17-2) will go head-to-head.
This fight is actually a rematch from 2014. Their first fight took place back at UFC 179 and Dariush was able to pickup the unanimous decision victory. That was the first career loss for Diego Ferreira.
After that loss to Dariush, Ferreira would also lose his next fight which came against former UFC interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier. However, since that Poirier fight, nobody has defeated Ferreira inside the octagon.
The Brazilian lightweight has strung together six consecutive wins including wins including one over Anthony Pettis. This six-fight winning streak has found Ferreira ranked ninth in the lightweight division.
This is a big fight for Ferreira as he can avenge his first career loss and continue his march up the division’s rankings. Both men will be seeking an opponent near the UFC‘s top five if they are able to win on Super Bowl weekend.
UFC lightweight battle
Dariush will bring his own UFC winning streak to the octagon on February 6th. He has been able to win five straight fights, but the most impressive thing is that he will carry a four fight finishing streak into the cage.
Dariush did miss weight in his last fight against Scott Holtzman, but he made up for it in the eyes of the promotion. He had a brilliant spinning backfist knockout near the end of the first round back in August.
Dariush hit a little speedbump in his career a few years ago when he went 0-2-1 in three fights against some good competition. However, he’s really turned it around and he’s looked better than ever over the last couple of years.
As mentioned, this rematch is a big fight for the UFC‘s lightweight division. Whoever wins will be in a really good position in arguably the most exciting and dynamic division in the sport.