Beneil Dariush offered his analysis that Ilia Topuria selected a fight with Justin Gaethje instead of Islam Makhachev because he lacked a clear gameplan for facing Makhachev. Dariush suggested that Topuria viewed the Gaethje matchup as a lucrative opportunity that would be significantly easier to prepare a strategy for compared to the stylistic challenges Makhachev presents. According to Dariush, creating a fight plan for Gaethje is much more straightforward than developing one for Makhachev. This represents Dariush's perspective on Topuria's recent opponent selection and strategic decision-making.
Lightweight contender Beneil Dariush has publicly weighed in on Ilia Topuria's decision to pursue a fight with Justin Gaethje rather than a title unification bout with Islam Makhachev, arguing the choice came down to strategic simplicity.
Dariush, who carries a 23-8-1 record and is ranked eighth in the lightweight division at 37 years old, suggested that Topuria simply did not have a viable gameplan for handling Makhachev's style. The Kings MMA representative, a southpaw out of the United States, averaged 3.78 significant strikes per minute across his career while also posting 2.11 takedowns per 15 minutes — giving him a reasonable frame of reference for the complexities elite grapplers introduce.
Topuria, ranked second at lightweight and the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to the verified rankings, enters this conversation off a 17-1-0 record. The 29-year-old Spaniard known as El Matador lands an impressive 4.81 significant strikes per minute, but Dariush indicated that translating that offensive output into a workable strategy against Makhachev proved too complicated for his camp's liking.
Makhachev, the current champion and ranked number one pound-for-pound, presents a clear picture of why. The 34-year-old Russian carries a 28-1-0 record and leads the division with 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes, a 58 percent striking accuracy mark, and 1.1 submission attempts per 15 minutes — a combination that makes him exceptionally difficult to scheme against.
Why it matters
- Topuria's opponent selection directly affects the lightweight title picture and when a Makhachev unification fight materializes
- Dariush's framing positions Makhachev as the most strategically daunting challenge in the division, reinforcing the champion's standing
- The stylistic contrast between Gaethje's forward aggression and Makhachev's suffocating grappling supports Dariush's argument that the two matchups require vastly different preparation
