“He’s got better skills” – Beneil Dariush argues how facing Arman Tsarukyan presents a greater challenge than squaring off against Dustin Poirier

Beneil Dariush and Dustin Poirier were linked to fight each other on several occasions in recent years. The fight did not come to fruition and both men went separate directions in their quests to become undisputed UFC champion. It appears that Beneil Dariush is no longer interested in taking on Poirier, who appears "a little too comfortable" to him these days.

Dariush is set to take on rising contender Arman Tsarukyan at the UFC Austin event on Dec. 2, 2023. He recently sat down with Submission Radio for a candid talk about his upcoming fight. When reminded about the potential fight with Dustin Poirier, Dariush said that the young Tsarukyan presents a much bigger challenge than ‘The Diamond’. He explained:

“The way I look at it, Dustin makes more sense in terms of rankings… In terms of, you know, visibility, in terms of everything, right? BUT, on paper, I think Arman is a tougher fighter. He’s got better skills in terms of grappling. He’s younger, I would say he’s hungrier."

He added:

It’s just that on paper, he [Arman] is a tougher fighter. So if we’re talking about visibility, I’ll pick Dustin Poirier. If we’re talking about who’s the tougher challenge, I would pick Arman Tsarukyan.”

Beneil Dariush clarified that it is solely his opinion and it could be wrong, but he is more inclined to taking on the tougher challenges than fighting higher-ranked fighters that will give him good publicity or visibility among the fight fans.

Watch Beneil Dariush state his opinions from the 14:10 mark of the video below:

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Dustin Poirier eyeing a UFC 300 comeback, fights against former foes on the horizon

Dustin Poirier is recovering from a devastating knockout loss against Justin Gaethje in the ceremonial BMF title fight at UFC 291. ‘The Diamond’ currently occupies third place in the official UFC lightweight rankings but does not have a fight scheduled for his comeback.

While speaking to Ariel Helwani in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour podcast, Poirier stated that he would like to fight at the milestone UFC 300 card scheduled to take place in April 2024. However, the mystery about the opponent's name has cast a shadow of doubt on the potential UFC 300 return.

Poirier’s archrival and former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is eyeing a fourth showdown against ‘The Diamond’ and feels that they still have ‘unfinished’ business.

The Lousiana native, who is 2-1 against ‘The Notorious’ does not see the necessity for the fourth fight to happen but he is open to it. Meanwhile, Dustin Poirier is keen on fighting Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 and he is keeping his weight low in case the opportunity shows up.