UFC ON ESPN 52: Beneil Dariush vs Arman Tsarukyan 12/02/2023 Fight Picks, Predictions and Preview

UFC ON ESPN 52: Dariush vs Tsarukyan 12/02/2023 – Lightweight contenders Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan clash in the main event of the UFC on ESPN 52 on Saturday, December 2, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The five-round showdown is part of the main card that will begin at 7:00 PM ET. ESPN+ will broadcast the fight on live television while UFC Fight Pass will feature it on livestream. Dariush hopes to bounce back from a one-round setback at the hands of Charles Oliveira while Tsarukyan looks to secure his third straight win in the octagon. Online sports odds are already updated as we await for the much anticipated fight to take place.

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Main Card

Beneil Dariush

Dariush (22-5-1, 16-5-1 UFC) had his eight-fight winning streak broken by Charles Oliveira as he succumbed in just one round. The Brazilian showed his talent and championship poise to catch Dariush off guard. Oliveira grounded and pounded his way to beat Dariush in 4:10 in the first. Before losing to the former champion, Dariush has strung up eight consecutive wins, including a victory over former interim UFC lightweight champ Tony Ferguson. He is currently the No4 contender and his status is on the line against Tsarukyan. A win will solidify his rankings and a loss will pull him down. The southpaw has a three-inch height advantage that he can use to outclass his opponent.

In terms of statistics, Dariush has won 13 (five knockouts and eight submissions) of his 22 fights via stoppage. His chin seemed suspect as he lost four times via knockout and was submitted once. Dariush has landed 3.79 strikes landed per minute and he striking accuracy rate is 49%. He has absorbed 2.63 strikes per minute and his defense is a solid 58%. In terms of grappling, the California native has averaged 1.91 takedowns per 15 minutes. His takedown accuracy is 34% but his defense is excellent as he has been able to stop 80% of the takedown attempts against him. He also tries to attempt a submission in every match as evidenced by his average of 0.9 submission attempts per 15 minutes.

Arman Tsarukyan

Tsarukyan (20-3, 7-2 UFC) has put up an excellent record after losing his first UFC match against current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Following that setback, he won seven of his next eight fights and this lifted his rankings in the division to number eight. He was also able to put up a great fight against Mateusz Gamrot despite losing it in five rounds. A victory over Dariush would push his rank higher and move him toward championship consideration. He has stopped 13 of his foes, eight of them via knockout and five by submission. He has not been submitted in his career although he was knocked out once and that was way back in 2015.

Tsarukyan’s striking ability is above average at as he has able to land an average of 3.82 strikes per minute at an accuracy rate of 48%. His defense against strikes, however, is outstanding as he has only allowed 1.91 strikes per minute. His striking defense rate is 54%. In terms of grappling, Tsarukyan is prolific in takedowns as he averages 3.43 per 15 minute. However, his takedown accuracy is only 36%, which is understandable considering that he puts a premium on putting the fight on the mat. He is good at defending takedowns with a rate of 75%. Unfortunately, he has yet to connect a submission attempt in his UFC career.