LAS VEGAS – Beneil Dariush didn’t need jiu-jitsu to win at UFC 248.
The UFC veteran scored one of the best finishes of his career at Saturday’s UFC 248 pay-per-view event at the T-Mobile Arena, but it didn’t come by way of his nifty ground game. Dariush (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) knocked out Drakkar Klose in the second round of their lightweight contest after a wild exchange that had the crowd on its feet.
The final seconds were completely opposite to what went down in the first round. For the majority of the opening round, Dariush controlled Klose (11-1-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) as he had taken his back and worked for a standing rear-naked choke.
In the second round, Klose attempted to make up for lost ground and came out swinging hard at Dariush. Klose connected, wobbled Dariush and began to pressure him looking for the finish. But instead of going into defense mode, the Iranian fighter stayed in the pocket and managed to switch the momentum with a hard hook, hurting Klose.
Once rocked, Dariush followed up with a brutal left hook that sent Klose straight to the canvas. It was Dariush’s first KO win since stopping James Vick in 2016.
Dariush is now on a four-fight winning streak and finds himself in a promising position in the UFC’s lightweight division.
The 155-pound bout was part of the UFC 248 main card at T-Mobile Arena. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 248 results include:
- Beneil Dariush def. Drakkar Klose via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 1:00
- Neil Magny def. Li Jingliang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alex Oliveira def. Max Griffin via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Sean O’Malley def. Jose Quinonez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:02
- Mark Madsen def. Austin Hubbard via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Rodolfo Vieira def. Saparbek Safarov via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 2:58
- Gerald Meerschaert def. Deron Winn via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:13
- Giga Chikadze def. Jamall Emmers via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Danaa Batgerel def. Guido Cannetti via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:01
