Beneil Dariush controls Diego Ferreira for 15 minutes to earn a victory at UFC Vegas 18
The UFC will be making its return to the UFC apex in Vegas for UFC Fight Night 184. The card will be headlined by heavyweight contenders Alistair Overeem and Alexander Volkov.
To kick off the main card lightweight contenders Beneil Dariush and Diego Ferreira will square off. Dariush is ranked 13 at lightweight while Ferreira is currently ranked number ten.
Carlos Diego Ferreira (17-2) came up short in a unanimous decision in their first meeting, but it was all the way back in October 2014. Since that fight he has gone on to win every fight racking up knockouts over Jared Gordon and Kyle Nelson before showcasing his grappling supremacy against Rustam Khabilov and Mairbek Taisumov. He is now coming off his biggest win in his Mixed Martial Arts career when he submitted former champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 246, early last year.
After winning that unanimous decision, Beneil Dariush (19-4-1) has gone 10-3-1 since that fight. After getting KO’d by Alexander Hernandez, Dariush has gone on a streak earning a unanimous decision win over Thiago Moises, then submitting Drew Dober and Frank Camacho. Then knocking out Drakkar Klose and Scott Holtzman in a fight of the night fashion to make it five in a row.
Here’s how the fight played out round by round:
ROUND 1:
#10 vs. #13. Here we go. Both men enter the centre. Dariush tries his luck with his hands early. Dariush landing some punches on Ferreira. Dariush shoots for a takedown on the fence, Ferreira has heavy hips and avoids being dump on the canvas. Momentarily Dariush gets Ferreira down and he’s straight back up. And they are instantly swinging on the feet Dariush landing some great combinations. Dariush lands a great knee and it drops Ferreira. Dariush on top landing some elbows. Dariush sitting in full guard. Beautiful scramble from Dariush after Ferreira tries to get up. They return to the centre for the last thirty seconds and both men land some clean punches. Ferreira landing at the end of the round. The bell goes.
MyMMANews.com scores it: 10-9 to Beneil Dariush
ROUND 2:
Let’s see if the pace can continue in round two. Both men instantly enter the centre and engage. Both men trade head kicks. Dariush looking for a shot and gets the trip and lands in full guard. Dariush landing some short shots on the ground. Dariush stands up and Ferreira just narrowly missed the up kick. Dariush dives back into full guard. Ferreira gets back to his feet and Dariush pushes him up against the cage and looks for the back. They go back to the mat once again. Ferreira gets back up. Dariush constantly looking for the takedown. Dariush shots and Ferreira looks for a guillotine. Ferreira let’s it go and Dariush is in full guard again. Dariush passes into half guard. Ferreira gets it back to full guard. Dariush lands some wide hooks on the ground. Dariush ends the round on top.
MyMMANews.com scores it: 10-9 to Beneil Dariush, 20-18
ROUND 3:
Ferreira needs some urgency in the last round. Let’s see if Ferreira can stop Dariush takedowns. Ferreira instantly comes out swinging. Ferreira now looking to stick and move. Dariush looks for a takedown – this time Ferreira evades it. Dariush accidentally low blows Ferreira. He has five minutes to recover. Ferreira only uses 50 seconds and we are back under way. Both men trade body kicks as they continue to throw big punches on the feet. A big land from Dariush as his left hand lands clean. A heavy exchange from both men – Ferreira gets the best out of it. Ferreira dumps Dariush after a attempted kick. And Ferreira instantly tries to make something happen on the ground and Dariush scrambles to his feet. The pace of the fight has been incredible. Dariush shoots with a minute on the clock – he’s successful with his attempt. Dariush looking to control Ferreira. Ferreira scrambles and lands on top and drops a big elbow. Dariush doesn’t settle for the position and moves. The bell goes. What a FIGHT!
MyMMANews.com scores it: 10-9 to Beneil Dariush, 30-27
Official Result: Beneil Dariush (29-28, 29-28) defeats Diego Ferreira (29-28) by Split Decision.
