No. 9 lightweight Diego Ferreira (17-2, 3 KOs, 7 SUBs) will meet No. 12 Beneil Dariush (19-4, 5 KOs, 8 SUBs) at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov on Saturday, Feb 6, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. The card airs live on ESPN+ starting 8pm ET. In the main event, future heavyweight hall of famer Alistair Overeem (47-18, 25 KOs, 17 SUBs) will meet contender Alexander Volkov (32-8, 21 KOs, 3 SUBs) in a high-stakes divisional scrap. The UFC odds at BookMaker.eu opened with pick'em odds, with both Ferreira and Dariush at -115. Let's break down your best UFC betting picks at the online sportsbook.
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The Stakes
It's almost laughable how much talent resides in the 155-pound division. Case in point: Diego Ferreira is riding a six-fight win streak with wins over Anthony Pettis, Rustam Khabilov and Mairbek Taisumov and he's ranked No. 9. Also, nobody would be surprised if you had no idea who he is. Beneil Dariush is highly respected, has won five straight and is barely in the top 15. Both guys are angling for bigger names, and that starts by winning this contest. Anyone that can crack the top 5 at lightweight gets recognition...and paid.
Diego Ferreira (17-2, 3 KOs, 7 SUBs)
At 36 years old, the Brazilian is peaking at an age where most guys start slowing down. Of course, his age comes with some risk and we've seen fighters drop off quickly as they near their 40s. We also have to mention that he was suspended for two years after popping hot for PEDs in 2016, but he Ferreira has yet to lose since coming back - sure seems like he made the most of his time away.
We hope that Ferreira gets more opportunities, because he's a wildly entertaining fighter. A solidly built fighter with good athleticism, the Fortis MMA product seems to focus solely on his offense with little regard for defending. While he doesn't possess many knockouts, good fighters have not been able to handle his aggressive striking. A big reason for this is that Ferreira is all too happy to go to the mat, where he possesses serious grappling skills. When you don't have to worry about takedowns, you can take a lot more chances on the feet.
Beneil Dariush (19-4, 5 KOs, 8 SUBs)
We've been waiting a long time for Dariush to arrive as a legitimate contender. He's come close a few times, putting together an 8-2 run with wins over Jim Miller, Michael Johnson, James Vick and Rashid Magomedov. His five-fight streak puts him on the cusp again, though Dariush has yet to beat a significant fighter during this run - although he finished four of his opponents. Maybe he never enters the title picture, but just the fact that we wouldn't be surprised if he did speaks to our respect for the vet.
Though Dariush will be entering his 19th UFC fight, the guy is still just 31 years old. He may have miles on the odometer, but he's still young by fighter standards. There really aren't any weaknesses to his game - he's comfortable everywhere. His biggest weakness are defensive lapses where he tends to get cracked, but for the most part we've seen Dariush hold his own in every area, against striking and grappling specialists alike. Now it's time to see if he can add all his skills together to become greater than the sum of his parts.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Ferreira 5.07 / Dariush 3.98
Striking accuracy: Ferreira 36% / Dariush 49%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Ferreira 3.11 / Dariush 2.63
Striking defense: Ferreira 61% / Dariush 59%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Ferreira 1.04 / Dariush 1.75
Takedown accuracy: Ferreira 27% / Dariush 32%
Takedown defense: Ferreira 70% / Dariush 80%
Submissions per 15 minutes: Ferreira 1.0 / Dariush 1.1
UFC Picks
We like the near even money bet you can get on Dariush. As you can probably tell, we think that he's an underrated lightweight who has top tier potential. He's gotten caught in the past, but for the most part his well-rounded game is tough to beat. Honestly, it's going to be a close fight and you can flip a coin here, but our money's on the Beneil.
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov Card & Odds
Heavyweight - Alistair Overeem +158 vs. Alexander Volkov -191
Bantamweight - Frankie Edgar +332 vs. Cory Sandhagen -434
Lightweight - Beneil Dariush -102 vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira -122
Flyweight - Manel Kape +108 vs. Alexandre Pantoja -132
Women's Bantamweight - Marion Reneau +173 vs. Macy Chiasson -210
Women's Flyweight - Lara Procopio +134 vs. Molly McCann -162
Lightweight - Clay Guida +177 vs. Michael Johnson -215
Light Heavyweight - Danilo Marques +196 vs. Mike Rodríguez -240
Featherweight - Seung Woo Choi +203 vs. Youssef Zalal -250
Women's Bantamweight - Joselyne Edwards +200 vs. Karol Rosa -245
Lightweight - Justin Jaynes +228 vs. Devonte Smith -284
Featherweight - Martin Day +267 vs. Timur Valiev -337
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