Beneil Dariush injured, out of fight against Islam Makhachev, Bobby Green to replace in catchweight fight
Third-ranked contender Beneil Dariush has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming main event fight against Islam Makhachev next weekend.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported on Wednesday that Dariush has been forced to withdraw due to suffering an ankle injury while in practice this week. In place of Dariush will be the always entertaining and prepared Bobby Green, who just competed at UFC 271 last week. With Green coming in as a replacement, the report also states that Green will meet Makhachev in a catchweight fight of 160 pounds.
In his last fight, Green, a well-respected and always ready-to-fight veteran handed Nasrat Haqparast his second consecutive loss with a unanimous decision victory. The victory was Bobby Green’s fourth win in his last six fights, and the opportunity to take on Makhachev will offer him an opportunity to jump into the Top-15 rankings if he comes through victorious.
The fight between Beneil Dariush and Makhachev was slated to be a title eliminator to determine who would potentially be next in line for a shot at the UFC lightweight championship. The champion, Charles Oliveira is scheduled to face Justin Gaethje for the undisputed title at UFC 274 in May.
Although there was no timetable given for a return from the injury for Beneil Dariush, it will bring a derailment to his hopeful title chances in the near future. To date, Dariush has won 7 consecutive fights in the UFC and his most recent win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 262 catapulted him into the Top-5 rankings in the division.
An opportunity is still there for Islam Makhachev to make his claim as the next title contender if he puts on an impressive winning performance against Bobby Green.
With Dariush now out and Green filling his spot, here is how the UFC Vegas 49 lineup is currently scheduled.
- Islam Makhachev vs Bobby Green (catchweight 160 pounds)
- Misha Cirkunov vs Wellington Turman
- Ignacio Bahamondes vs Zhu Rong
- Arman Tsarukyan vs Joel Alvarez
- Gregory Rodrigues vs Armen Petrosyan
- Priscila Cachoeira vs Ji Yeon Kim
- Jinh Yu Frey vs Hannah Goldy
- Victor Altamirano vs Carlos Hernandez
- Terrance McKinney vs Fares Ziam
- Alejandro Perez vs Jonathan Martinez
- Jonny Parsons vs Micheal Gillmore
- Josiane Nunes vs Jennifer Gonzalez Araneda
