What is it going to take to dethrone undefeated champion Ilia Topuria?
Topuria has looked seemingly unstoppable as of late, knocking out the likes of featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, BMF champion Max Holloway, and the former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira.
Topuria became one of 10 UFC fighters to win a second title on Saturday, picking up the vacant lightweight belt with a quick first-round finish of Oliveira in the UFC 317 main event.
The new lightweight champion wasn’t short of potential challengers afterwards, with Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje, and Paddy Pimblett in attendance for his fight, all wanting a piece of Topuria.
While Topuria’s next opponent is likely to be one of those three, there is another contender who could pose a threat to Topuria ‘stylistically’.
Beneil Dariush says Mateusz Gamrot could be a problem for Ilia Topuria
If you look further down the lightweight ladder, just above Pimblett, you’ll see the #7-ranked Mateusz Gamrot.
Poland’s Gamrot is 8-3 in the UFC and is considered one of the lightweight division’s best grapplers.
Gamrot handed the #1 contender Tsarukyan his last loss in 2022. Gamrot was on the verge of a title shot against Beneil Dariush later that year, but the perennial contender would ultimately snap his four-fight win streak.
Gamrot might still have a ways to go before a title opportunity; however, his former foe Dariush likes his chances in a future fight against the heavy-handed Topuria.
“A guy like Gamrot could cause some issues for Ilia,” Dariush told The Schmo.
“Because he can shoot not once, not twice, [but lots of times].
“He can shoot, shoot, shoot until he finally gets you down. That could be something that’s effective against Ilia.
“I’m thinking maybe that could be a trick that works,” Dariush said.
In his fight at UFC 299 last year, Gamrot took down former lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos 11 times and racked up 7 minutes of control time across three rounds. Gamrot also took down Tsarukyan 6 times, the most Tsarukyan has ever been taken down in the UFC.
Gamrot is coming off a dominant decision win over Ľudovít Klein in May.
Beneil Dariush claims UFC never gave him a title shot because of his ranking
At 36, Dariush is planning on one last run towards the title.
Dariush rebounded from TKO losses to Charles Oliveira and Tsarukyan with a decision win over recent title challenger Renato Moicano at UFC 317.
The top-10 contender was at one point ranked #3 in the world and had one of the longest win streaks in the division’s history, with back-to-back victories over Gamrot and legendary lightweight Tony Ferguson.
“When I was on an eight-fight win streak, they said, oh, you’re not ranked high enough,” Dariush continued.
“So, that’s why I didn’t get the title shot. I remember I had a conversation with the UFC…
“I don’t want that excuse to be around anymore,” Dariush said.
Ranked #9 as of this writing, Dariush says he doesn’t want to fight down the ladder anymore, only up.
“I don’t want to fight people behind me. I’ve always given guys opportunities for people behind me, like Gamrot and Arman. Now, I want opportunities to fight ahead of me.”