This weekend’s UFC 280 fight card is packed with outstanding fights, and one of the many that make up the PPV main card is an exciting battle between Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot.
Dariush vs. Gamrot will take place at the starting end of the five-fight main card just moments before Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev, Aljamain Sterling vs. TJ Dillashaw, and Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley. Because the fight card will take place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the event will stream at a special afternoon time in the United States only on ESPN+ PPV.
The Dariush vs. Gamrot fight certainly doesn’t have the same stakes as others on the main card, but it has the potential to shake up the lightweight division dramatically. Dariush is currently ranked #6 in the division after an impressive seven-fight win streak that most recently saw him earn a unanimous decision victory against Tony Ferguson. Gamrot has jumped up the #9 spot in the rankings following his four-fight win streak and a decision victory against Arman Tsarukyan in June.
Oddsmakers have the veteran, Dariush, as the underdog before UFC 280. He’s available at odds of +155, whereas Gamrot is listed as a -190 favorite. But do UFC fighters agree with the odds? James Lynch asked fighters for their Dariush vs. Gamrot predictions before UFC 280 this weekend.
Order UFC 280 PPV
UFC 280 is a PPV event hosted in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will air at a special time in the United States. See below for full details about the fight start time and also how to watch the event live on
- Date:Â Saturday, October 22
- Time:Â PPV Main Card starts at 2 pm ET, Prelims start at 10 am ET
- Watch:Â
ESPN + PPV (order here)
Order UFC 280 on the ESPN+ website to watch every main card fight live, including Oliveira vs. Makhachev, Sterling vs. Dillashaw, Yan vs. O’Malley, and all other fights. After ordering, fans can stream every UFC 280 fight to a preferred device, including TVs, mobiles, computers, laptops, tablets, and more.
Dariush vs. Gamrot predictions
Neil Magny
“I can’t pick against Beneil. He’s one of those OG’s and one of those guys that shows up time and time again. He’s right there where he needs to be. He’s top five now. He’s finally getting the recognition that he deserved for a long time. He’s going to go out there and prove to a lot of people why he belongs there in the top five and should be fighting for a title soon.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Chase Hooper
“That’s a fun one. I’m going to take Dariush just for the experience. He’s just such a vet.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Max Griffin
“Dariush man. He’s a dark horse. He’s really good. He’s real slick, doesn’t look too menacing but he’ll put you away, hands, feet, jits, I think he’s very well-rounded, and so is Gamrot, that’s a very good fight. But Beneil, I think he got kind of cheated out of some opportunity or something like that with the Makhachev stuff. I’m going Dariush.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Garrett Armfield
“I’m going to go Gamrot. I was really impressed by his last performance. It was a really technical performance against Arman. That was a very technical fight, and I think he’s going to get the job done.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Jordan Wright
“I really like Dariush a lot. I really, really want to see his fight with Islam. It’s a shame that didn’t happen. But I think I’m going to go with Dariush.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Josh Fremd
“I’m going to go with Gamrot. I think he’s an absolute stud. Dariush is also very, very good. It sucks in this game only one person gets to win but that’s how it goes. I’m going with Gamrot.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Nate Maness
“I’m going with Gamrot, man. I think he’s a dark horse. I think it’ll be the fight of the night. It’ll go back-and-forth, and it’ll be a close decision whoever wins.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)
Steve Garcia
“I gotta give it to Dariush. I feel like they’ve put him off so much, and I think like that he’s just had it now, and he’s done being questioned now, and he’s going to get to that title shot. I think he’s going to get it done, so I gotta go with Dariush. There’s no denying him.” (via James Lynch – MMA Pros Pick)