Drew Dober is hoping to secure a lightweight title shot at some point, but he thinks there’s another top fighter in the division that poses the biggest challenge for Islam Makhachev.
The UFC’s #10-ranked lightweight is coming off arguably the best year of his career after he stopped all three opponents that he faced in 2022. Dober’s last performance against Bobby Green was particularly impressive, and the 34-year-old could now be just a couple of fights away from challenging for a title.
UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev just defended his belt for the first time at UFC 284 in a champion-versus-champion matchup with Alexander Volkanovski. The 31-year-old was seriously tested by the featherweight king but earned a unanimous decision, which extended his current winning streak to twelve fights.
Makhachev recently put out a call for his next challenger, and one of the upcoming fights that could clarify the lightweight title picture is the UFC 288 matchup between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.
Dober Names Biggest Challenge For Makhachev
Dober recently caught up with Anthony Smith and Michael Bisping and was asked if he expects the winner of Oliveira vs. Dariush to get the next lightweight shot, which prompted the 34-year-old to give some interesting insight on Makhachev’s potential next challenger.
“Yes, I think the winner of that fight should fight for the belt,” Dober said. “I don’t like the stalling for the super fights and the money fights. I think we should find the best ’55er in the world, and I think it’s Beneil Dariush. I think Beneil’s gonna take [the Oliveira] fight, I think he’s gonna surprise everyone the way he’s gonna perform. And man, the fight I wanna see is Islam vs. Beneil. Because I think Beneil’s gonna give Islam the biggest problems.”
Dariush would provide a fresh face in the lightweight title picture if he were to earn the next shot at Makhachev, as the Russian already defeated Oliveira to become champion. Dober is also in a unique position to consider how a potential matchup between the two fighters might go considering the 34-year-old has been submitted by both of them.
Much like Dober, Dariush has already been in the UFC for a long time but is currently on the best run of his career dating back to 2018. “Benny” is riding an eight-fight win streak, and he most recently earned a unanimous decision over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280.
What do you think of Dober’s comments about the challenge Dariush could present for Makhachev?
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