“Everybody is going to call me crazy” – Beneil Dariush shares prediction for Israel Adesanya vs Marvin Vettori

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Beneil Dariush had a surprising prediction for the upcoming middleweight title fight – Marvin Vettori vs Israel Adesanya

Israel Adesanya and Marvin Vettori will run it back at UFC 263 next month. The pair last met in April 2018, while both were making their way up in the middleweight division. Adesanya won the match via. a narrow split decision.

Until this day, a few believe Vettori should have won that match. It was the only time Adesanya also came close to being defeated.

Israel Adesanya brought out some dance moves after winning against Paulo Costa at UFC 253
Israel Adesanya kicks Paulo Costa in their middleweight championship bout during UFC 253 inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island on September 27, 2020 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Since that match, their careers have gone different ways. Although, Vettori never lost a single match after that, he never found himself in title contention.

Adesanya, on the other hand, quickly rose through the ranks, and won the middleweight title next year. He even tried his hand at the light-heavyweight title, only to eventually get his first L in his MMA career.

Elsewhere, number 9 ranked Beneil Dariush gave his prediction for the Adesanya vs Vettori fight. He had a surprising verdict, as he picked Vettori to run through Adesanya.

Speaking in an interview with the Schmo, Dariush said:

“Everybody is going to call me crazy for this, but I think he’s [Vettori] going to run through Adesanya. And Adesanya is that good, but I just think Marvin is going to run through him.”

A good chance for Beneil Dariush to progress towards the lightweight title picture

Dariush will be taking on the experienced Tony Ferguson in the co-main event of UFC 262. He is currently ranked number 9, and has a good chance of progressing towards the top 5 if he gets past Ferguson.

Beneil Dariush in action against Scott Holtzman
Beneil Dariush kicks Scott Holtzman in their lightweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

And not to forget, Dariush is on a wild six-match win streak, and he hasn’t lost in more than 3 years. The last fight against Carlos Diego Ferreira just showed how tough the Iranian can be.

Ferguson, meanwhile, is on a two-fight skid for the first time in his MMA career. He will be looking forward to getting back to winning ways this Saturday.

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