No Respect for Tony Ferguson
At UFC 262, we have the 5th ranked Lightweight going against the 6th ranked. Tony Ferguson versus Beneil Dariush could not be any closer. In the betting world, the big favorite is Dariush. “El Cucuy” has suffered consecutive losses against top talent, but Tony is going to stop his slide in the rankings against Beneil Dariush. The Underdog of the Night for UFC 262 is Tony Ferguson.
Bookies have stacked the odds in Dariush’s favor (-174 at BetOnline.ag). To me, that seems like a trap for bettors. Dariush does not have a great resume compared to Ferguson. Dariush has won against (in descending order): the 13th, 31st, 22nd, 74th, 14th, and 16th in his current six-fight win streak. That is not exactly a solid resume to the top tier of the UFC. On the other hand, Ferguson lost against the second and third-ranked Lightweights.
Experience Over Showmanship
Ferguson is Dariush’s highest-ranked opponent by a large margin in the rankings. That’s like going from rookie to superstar difficulty. Ferguson will be an excellent test for Dariush, but I cannot figure out why Dariush is the favorite. They are severely underestimating Ferguson with this fight.
Final Thoughts
I watched Ferguson receive an absolute beating by Gaethje in a five-round loss. I took away from that fight how Ferguson made Gaethje earn his chance for the Lightweight belt. Dariush has enjoyed some highlight knockouts, but Ferguson is a different animal from what he’s ever seen before in the cage. If Gaethje can barely get a TKO against Ferguson in five, Dariush will decide against Ferguson. Ferguson is going to win that decision.
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