Tony Ferguson to fight Beneil Dariush at UFC 262

UFC veteran lightweights will class against each other when Tony Ferguson will fight rising contender Beneil Dariush at UFC 262 in May.

The former UFC interim lightweight champion is expected to return to the octagon on May 15 at UFC 262 against rising contender Beneil Dariush. News of this planned matchup was first reported by MMA Junkie on Friday. The report notes that the fight has been verbally agreed to, but that contracts are not yet signed.

Tony Ferguson wants to get back in the win column

Ferguson (25-5 MMA, 15-3 UFC) looks to bounce back from the worst run of his career. For the first time, Ferguson is on a losing skid after experiencing back-to-back losses in his two most recent fights. Ferguson is coming off a down year in 2020, in which he lost an interim title fight to Justin Gaethje in May and a non-title fight to Charles Oliveira in December. Before those losses, the 37-year-old had won 12 fights in a row, and he remains the UFC’s No. 5-ranked lightweight contender.

Fighting out of Oxnard, California, Ferguson was scheduled to face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title in April 2020, but that fight was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Nurmagomedov has since announced his retirement from mixed martial arts. Before those losses, Ferguson was on a fantastic, 12-fight win-streak, highlighted by wins over fighters like Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Dariush (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC) is getting a fight he wanted. Dariush is unbeaten in his past six bouts, including four “Performance of the Night” bonuses. Dariush is coming off a split decision win against Diego Ferreira and has won six in a row overall. Immediately after his win against Ferreira last month, Dariush spoke out about deserving a top-ranked contender, and he’ll certainly have that in Ferguson once the bout is finalized.

Other highlights of his current streak include wins over Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, and Drakkar Klose. He’s also scored previous wins over solid foes like Rashid Magomedov, Michael Johnson, Jim Miller, Diego Ferreira, Anthony Rocco Martin, and Charlie Brenneman.

UFC 262 is slated for May 15, most likely in Las Vegas. The card doesn’t currently have an official main event, but it does include several compelling matchups already.