Beneil Dariush Claims Arman Tsarukyan Is a Tougher Fight Than Dustin Poirier

Beneil Dariush recently revealed that Dustin Poirier was a potential opponent for his upcoming main-event assignment.

Dariush (22-5) is slated to take on up-and-coming contender Arman Tsarukyan (20-3) in the main event at UFC on ESPN 52 on Saturday in Austin, Texas. “Benny” claims Poirier’s name was also mentioned as an alternative opponent, but the booking never came to fruition. Dariush recently told Submission Radio:

“They called me for that and they said, ‘Hey, would you be willing?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, of course. My weight’s good, I’m obviously in camp right now, I can do a fight with Dustin Poirier.’ And they said, ‘Okay, we’ll get back to you.’ It didn’t materialize and then they called me again and they said, ‘Okay, what about Dustin Poirier for December 2?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then I just waited and it didn’t materialize.”

“Afterward they said they were going to stick with Arman and it’s gonna be five rounds. I never hear the other side. I’m not really sure what happened with Dustin. I would love to hear what he has to say about it, but no one has asked him in the interviews or anything like that or he hasn’t mentioned it.”

Dariush also believes that while the No. 3 ranked Poirier (29-8) might be the bigger name on paper, the No. 8 ranked Tsarukyan is the tougher fight.

“If we’re talking about visibility, I would pick Dustin Poirier. If we’re talking about who’s the tougher challenge, I would pick Arman Tsarukyan and that’s my opinion. So, I’m kind of excited to be fighting Tsarukyan, to be honest with you. I’ll always pick to fight the tougher guy, that’s my goal.”

Dariush is coming off a knockout loss to former champ Charles Oliveira in a title eliminator earlier this year that marked the end of an eight-fight winning streak. Meanwhile, “Ahalkalakets” is on a two-fight win streak with his only promotional losses coming against reigning champ Islam Makhachev and top contender Mateusz Gamrot.

UFC on ESPN 52 takes place at Moody Center in Austin on Dec. 2. The 13-fight slate is headlined by the Dariush-Tsarukyan lightweight tilt, with another lightweight scrap featuring Bobby Green against short-notice opponent Jalin Turner as the co-main event.