Midnight Mania! Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan added to UFC Austin

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will return to Austin, Texas before 2023 is over and the card on tap is looking like a good one.

In the Lightweight division, a pivotal contender bout has been added to UFC Austin as top-ranked competitors, Beneil Dariush (22-5-1), and Arman Tsarukyan (20-3), are set to square off on the Dec. 2, 2023 date, according to Tsarukyan on UFC Unfiltered. While the bout is worthy of main event status, it is unknown just yet if it will occupy the headliner slot or not. The pairing was originally being targeted for UFC 296 in Las Vegas on Dec. 16, 2023.

watch highlights). Oliveira snapped Dariush’s impressive eight-fight winning streak, ultimately costing him his first shot at UFC gold. Unfortunately, Oliveira didn’t even get to challenge for the strap himself as he was originally scheduled to challenge the champion, Islam Makhachev, at UFC 294 this weekend (Sat., Oct. 21, 2023). “Do Bronx” suffered in training last week, resulting in his withdrawal.

On the other hand, Tsarukyan, 27, is finally getting the big-name fight he’s been asking for. Riding high on a two-fight winning streak, a win over a veteran and perennial contender like Dariush would position Tsarukyan nicely amongst the top crop of 155-pound contenders.

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Insomnia

Islam Makhachev’s weight cuts are no joke. You can tell he’s envious that Kamaru Usman doesn’t have to chug gallons of water!

Kelvin Gastelum is starting to look a bit thinner. I think his odds are good at making Welterweight again, but the question is if he can do it consistently?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I definitely thought this was fake — and maybe it is, the internet should always be treated with suspicion — but those knockout sounds were uncomfortably convincing.

Lot of wild and erratic movement from AlQaisi before the right hand sits him down:

Pat Miletich really dog-walked Mike Jackson at 55 years of age while very much looking like a drunk uncle fighting at a wedding. Loss or not, that’s astonishing.