UFC 262: Tony Ferguson vs Beneil Dariush

On May 15^th Iranian fighter Beneil Dariush is set to fight against American Tony Ferguson in arguably, the biggest fight of his career.

According to many experts and the latest UFC 262 betting odds, Dariush is the favourite to earn himself a UFC lightweight title shot. 

In this article we briefly examine the overall record of both fighters to give you a better idea of how the fight may play out on May 15^th.

Who is Tony Ferguson?

Anthony (Tony) Armand Ferguson Padilla is a 37-year-old lightweight UFC fighter from Oxnard, California. 

Ferguson forged a passion for wrestling at college, where he regularly played the sport alongside football and baseball. However, it wasn’t until later in his life that he decided to devote himself to fighting.

One night at the bar where he worked, Ferguson was asked by a customer to help out some mixed martial artists with their wrestling. He agreed to this and immediately got the taste for MMA hitting the big time in 2011 when he signed with the UFC.

Throughout his professional career, Ferguson has fought in 26 matches winning 23 and losing 3, with 18 of his victories coming through knockout or submission.

How does Ferguson fight?

MMA is one of the hardest and most unpredictable sports to excel in, so the fact that Ferguson had a winning streak spanning 12 matches and 7 years should tell you a little bit about his mentality and durability.

If you were to judge his career from one fight randomly picked from YouTube you would be quite right in describing him as a raging ball of uncontrollable energy. However, there is more to Ferguson than just sheer, dominating aggression.

With every year that has passed, Ferguson has added more refinement and technical prowess to his game. Take his fights against Justin Edwards and Ryan McGillivray for example, two fighters that could match Ferguson for aggression.

In those bouts, Ferguson stood off and played a patient, counter attacking style to mitigate his opponents’ threats and pounce when the time was right.  

That said though, he does have weaknesses which Dariush will be keen to exploit. Chief amongst them is his inconsistency, not over the course of years and individual matches but throughout individual fights.

In one round, Ferguson can be the best defensive player on the planet, ducking and weaving like a young Mohammed Ali. Then, in the very next round he can come out with all the poise and grace of Homer Simpson against Drederick Tatum.

All in all though, Ferguson’s propensity to wildly fluctuate from round to round has made him one of the best fighters to watch in MMA over the past decade.

(Tony Ferguson is one hell of a fighter and is more than capable of unleashing a hell storm of rage and aggression on Dariush later this month.)

Who is Beneil Dariush?

Born in Urmia, Iran in 1989 Beneil Dariush is a fighter that most UFC fans will be fairly familiar with. He began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 14 years ago and made his UFC debut in 2014 when he won his bout against Charlie Brenneman by submission.

In total, Dariush has had 25 fights, winning 20 with the majority of those victories coming either via submission or decision.

How does Dariush fight?

Dariush is a BJJ black belt holder and as you would expect, fights with a high degree of technical refinement. 

Before stepping into the UFC, Dariush, who was coached by the legendary Ralph Gracie, won the silver medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships and then became the no-gi world champion at blue, purple and brown belt. 

In comparison to Ferguson, Dariush is definitely the more reserved of the fighters having forged a career through taking calculated, tactical decisions in the octagon. That isn’t to say though that he doesn’t have the power and aggression to obliterate Ferguson.

When Dariush does turn it on, his speed and explosive power can really blow opponents away. Last month the Iranian fighter hinted toward his approach for this fight when he promised to “out-crazy” Ferguson, so expect him to come out swinging in the early stages of the fight.

(Technically, Dariush is one of the finest fighters in UFC.)

Who wins?

Now you know a little bit more about each fighter it’s time to move on to the question on everyone’s lips: who wins this fight?

Nostalgic UFC fans will be wary about writing off Ferguson, despite the fact that he is currently on the longest losing streak of his career and past his peak. However, even his most ardent of fans would struggle to justify complete confidence in Ferguson’s prospects ahead of this fight.

It could be argued too that Darisuh is the last person that Ferguson wants to be fighting at this stage of his career. The Iranian is not an impulsive fighter, prone to overconfidence or complacency, rather he is a ruthless exploiter of weaknesses.

The fact that Dariush recently revealed to the media that he is preparing for a fight against Tony Ferguson in his prime, rather than in his current state should also strike fear into the hearts of Ferguson fans.

The only real hope for Ferguson is that Dariush comes out swinging and leaves himself vulnerable to the counter-strike. With Dariush’s technical prowess though, don’t bet on that happening…