Beneil Dariush was able to grind out a unanimous decision win against Rashid Magomedov tonight at UFC Fight Night 98, mixing up his striking with long periods of clinch work against the cage.
Round One:
Dariush with an immediate head kick. Now he lands a hard body kick. Back upstairs again for him, but not landing cleanly.
Magomedov slips on a kick, gets back up and blocks another head kick attempt from his opponent.
Dariush into the clinch and presses Magomedov to the cage. Dariush trying to take his opponent down, but Magomedov not only defends that, but also ends up on top when they do briefly hit the mat, before getting almost straight back up.
Dariush gets caught to the groin which forces a brief stoppage and then they are back to it. Nice kick again from Dariush.
Hard leg kicks for Dariush. Solid straight right for Magomedov. Head kick from Dariush blocked, but he lands a left hand. Superman punch from Dariush now.
Another head kick, punch combo. Leg kick for Magomedov. Hard body kick by Dariush and Magomedov works into the clinch and lands a few punches in response.
Magomedov working his opponent against the cage, then lands a big takedown. He’s in half guard, but there’s not enough time to do much with the position before the round ends.
Round Two:
Missed head kick from Dariush early in the second round. Big right hand for him that gets Magomedov’s attention, then a kick knocks him off-balance.
Ovehand left for Dariush. Nice counter from Magomedov. A kick apiece there with Magomedov landing more solidly that time with a body kick.
Another body kick for Magomedov and one in return to the leg from Dariush. Dariush pumps out the jab then follows up with the overhand left.
Back to the body kick for Dariush, who continues to have by far the bigger offensive output in this fight. Into the Thai clinch he goes and walks his opponent over to the cage as Magomedov lands a few uppercuts in response.
Against the cage now, Dariush just happy to control his opponent. He’d like to get a takedown here, but Magomedov isn’t making it easy for him.
Not a whole lot of action going on here and the crowd are getting restless. Finally they break free and Dariush has to block a head kick from Magomedov.
Into the clinch and Dariush lands a nice knee. Back against the cage now as the round ends.
Round Three:
Body kick for Magomedov, leg kick for Dariush. Again he lands a kick and again Dariush lands a counter in exchange.
Magomedov gets Dariush up against the cage. Dariush trying to work the Thai clinch, but struggling to find the space to utilize it effectively.
They break apart. Striking range now, but in the center of the cage they clinch up again, then Dariush moves his opponent to the cage.
Dariush spins his opponent around as he tries to bring Magomedov down, but he’s unable to. Not much happening here with two minutes to go in the fight and so the ref separates them.
Right hand for Magomedov. Knee for dariush. Body kick for Magomedov. Another body kick and a nice right hand.
More gruelling clinch work now. The two jockey for position in the final minute then separate. Tired looking strikes being thrown from the two fighters at this stage. They try to muster a final flurry, swinging hard, but without much accuracy until the bell.
Decision:
The judges have delivered their verdict, and it’s Dariush who earns a unanimous decision victory (30-27 x2, 29-28).
