Beneil Dariush (13-2) took care of James Vick’s misleading undefeated record with a devastatingly beautiful knockout at UFC 199 in Los Angeles.
Fox Sports shared the replay:
BOOM! Headshot! Beneil Dariush knocks James Vick out cold with a MASSIVE left hand! #UFC199 https://t.co/EoeIIryCBS
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) June 5, 2016
Vick (9-1) was 5-0 in the UFC but suffered a knockout loss to Michael Chiesa on The Ultimate Fighter season 15. That loss did not go on his record as all TUF contests are exhibitions.
Dariush was coming off a loss. He suffered a submission defeat to Chiesa in April and returned promptly to take on Vick at UFC 199. It was a quick turnaround, but he looked outstanding. Dariush took it to Vick straight from the opening bell. Vick’s lone offense in the fight were eye pokes.
No points were taken, but no worries came from Dariush. He took Vick’s consciousness.
Dariush entered the bout as the No. 10-ranked lightweight contender in the UFC’s official rankings. The jump up in competition proved to be too much for Vick. He was out of his element and clearly outclassed. Dariush noted in the post-fight interview that he scouted Vick’s arm extension on his strikes and knew exactly how to exploit the opening.
You can tell Dariush is a smart guy by how he just spoke about that matchup. Knew what he wanted to do coming in, and did it to a T.
— Connor Ruebusch (@BoxingBusch) June 5, 2016
This type of emphatic victory will shoot Dariush back into legitimate contender-level bouts. His quality striking and sensational ground game make him a tough out for anyone in the lightweight division. Vick will have to go back to the drawing board to fix the multitude of holes he showed.
Keep rewatching that knockout video, because you will not see many better, more picturesque finishes.
