The UFC added a couple of new fights to the schedule over the weekend, announcing that Beneil Dariush will meet Mairbek Taisumov at UFC Fight Night 81, while Brian Ortega and Diego Brandao will square off at UFC 195.
Dariush looks to continue his run in the lightweight division, which currently sits at five straight wins. The 26-year-old had looked increasingly impressive during the run, but he took a highly questionable decision over Michael Johnson in his most recent appearance.
He’ll put that streak on the line against Taisumov, who has stopped three straight opponents inside the Octagon. The 27-year-old most recently pulled off a head kick stoppage win over Alan Patrick in June, earning a “Performance of the Night” award in the process.
After a failed drug test negated his successful UFC debut, Ortega returned to action in June and scored an impressive TKO win over Thiago Tavares. That came late in the third round of a great fight that earned “Fight of the Night” honors at UFC Fight Night 68.
Now he’ll try to follow that up against Brandao, who is trying to keep a winning streak alive himself. The Ultimate Fighter season 14 winner has won two straight after suffering back to back losses in 2013 and 2014. He’s another recent bonus winner, having scored a “Performance of the Night” award in September with his 28 second TKO win over Katsunori Kikuno in Japan.
UFC Fight Night 81 airs live on Fox Sports 1 on Jan. 17, headlined by the Bantamweight Championship bout between T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz. UFC 195, meanwhile, hits pay-per-view on Jan. 2 from Las Vegas, Nevada, headlined by the Welterweight Championship bout between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit.
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