Beneil Dariush thought he was the backup fighter for Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, but it appears as though someone else got the role.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski revealed Monday he received clearance to return to competition and was ‘locked in’ as the backup should anything happen to Oliveira or Makhachev. The ‘Great’ has campaigned for the opportunity to become a two-division champion, so the revelation was unsurprising. However, it was surprising to Dariush, who was supposed to fill in, especially since he fights Mateusz Gamrot in a potential No. 1 contender on the very same pay-per-view event.