Beneil Dariush faces Quillan Salkilld at UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth, Australia. Dariush has struggled recently, winning only one of his last four fights, including a quick knockout loss in his last match.
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Beneil Dariush and Quillan Salkilld meet in the UFC Fight Night 275 co-feature Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.
Dariush (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) has hit a rough stretch in his career, winning just one of his last four, albeit against top-level lightweight talent. The 36-year-old enters after a first-round knockout loss to Benoit Saint-Denis, which only took 16 seconds. Dariush won the fight prior, a unanimous decision over Renato Moicano.
Salkilld (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) is a surging 26-year-old looking to establish himself among the top names in the division. He's undefeated through four fights in the UFC, and is on an 11-fight winning streak. He's only gone the distance once in the UFC, and finished every other opponent in the first round. His most recent outing was an opening-round submission of Jamie Mullarkey.
The co-main event for UFC Fight Night 275 features a potential crossroads at lightweight between Beneil Dariush and Quillan Salkilld.
Despite Dariush being a criminally underrated fighter who has felt disrespected by the organization time and time again, there's no denying that the 36-year-old veteran has seen better days. And with the UFC booking him against another up-and-coming finisher, this fight can feel like a forgone conclusion for the coming man in Salkilld.
Although Salkilld's last fight opposite a southpaw didn't last long, the Australian showed some solid ideas off his lead hand and played well off of bodywork.
I've seen Salkilld show some suspect defensive reactions when pressed hard past any sort of first layer, and his propensity to grapple could also be costly against a pressure fighter like Dariush (who is still among the best grapplers currently under the UFC umbrella).
The question is: can Dariush's notorious chin hold up under early adversity?
If Dariush can make it past the first frame of this fight, then I believe he has all the skills and stamina to outwork and out-grapple a young prospect like Salkilld.
Beneil Dariush has a professional MMA record of 23 wins, 7 losses, and 1 draw.
The UFC Fight Night 275 event is scheduled for Saturday at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.
Dariush has won only one of his last four fights, including a first-round knockout loss in his most recent match.
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It's not a pick I expected to make, nor is it a pick I'm confident in. That said, I suspect that Dariush's southpaw pressure can produce a classic vet lesson that will serve Salkilld well.
The most likely outcome is that Salkilld sends Dariush to the shadow realm early, but the official prediction is for "Longback Benny" to survive some early scares en route to a unanimous decision win on the scorecards.
The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the Australian fighter, listing Salkilld -500 and Dariush +360 via FanDuel.
As the co-main event, Dariush and Salkilld are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:10 a.m. ET. The fight streams live on Paramount+.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Perth: Beneil Dariush vs. Quillan Salkilld prediction, pick, time