‘Benny’ Takes on ‘Pakistan’s Greatest Warrior’ for UFC Fight Night’s Co-Main Event
Next Saturday is UFC Fight Night: Della Maddalena vs. Prates in the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Any UFC welterweight bout doesn’t appear to have any significant title implications as long as Islam Makhachev is the champ. His utter dominance has elevated him above every single fighter he’s faced in the UFC, even his toughest challengers. They appear to be sacrifices rather than worthy opponents. The co-main event takes a different approach. The bout doesn’t have major title implications, but a promising Australian lightweight prospect in Quillan Salkilld gets his first chance to crack into the top-15 at lightweight against 12th-ranked UFC veteran Beneil Dariush.
Salkilld is known for being a flashy striker with legit knockout power at lightweight. In 12 professional bouts, he has 11 wins. ‘Pakistan’s Greatest Warrior’ has won all five of his UFC bouts; in those five UFC matches, he has three first-round finishes with two knockouts and one submission finish. Salkilld’s striking skill set is promising in a division that elite strikers dominate. A win in this upcoming bout will legitimize him as a threat in the UFC’s Lightweight Division, with exciting matchups against top contenders in the division that should help him get better. He needs to keep the fight on his feet to get the biggest win of his UFC career.
Beneil Dariush is one of the UFC's oldest tenured fighters today. Next weekend’s bout marks the Iranian-born fighter's 26th bout in the UFC. His debut bout was a successful first-round rear-naked choke finish in January 2014. Dariush has gotten finishes and has been finishing himself since, and he’s fought the best the Lightweight Division has had to offer since his debut. The soon-to-be 37-year-old is comfortable anywhere in the octagon but prefers to take fights to the ground with eight submission victories compared to three knockouts to his name. He now has the opportunity to halt a hype train across the octagon. He’s got over a decade of octagon experience and a successful track record. Dariush hasn’t stopped his opponents since 2020, but don’t expect ‘Benny’ to go down easy. He always brings the best out of fighters. Beneil needs to make sure to shatter all of Salkilld’s confidence on the feet. He needs to maintain distance, land whenever Salkilld closes the distance, and take the fight to the ground whenever the opportunity comes.
This is how the fight will likely go down. ‘Pakistan’s Greatest Warrior’ will start fiery hot. He will look to outspeed ‘Benny’ on the feet, but the veteran won’t have any of it. They continue to gauge the distance for a couple of minutes before Dariush begins to land clean kicks to slow Salkilld down. The youngster pushes through the veteran’s tactics before landing a big shot to change Dariush’s game plan. The veteran starts looking to grapple before walking into a big shot just before the end of the round.
Round Two starts with both men looking to regain their bearings. ‘Pakistan’s Greatest Warrior’ will have some of his movement compromised, and ‘Benny’ will wear some scars on his face. Salkilld will land another big shot. Dariush will get the takedown he was looking for in the first round before Salkilld reverses to gain ground control. Salkilld lands devastating ground-and-pound before the ref comes in to stop the fight. Salkilld will get the victory and become a top-15 lightweight when the UFC updates its rankings.
