Beneil Dariush vs. Islam Makhachev Targeted to Headline UFC Fight Night on Feb. 26

A battle of lightweight contenders is in the works for early next year, as Beneil Dariush is slated to lock horns with Islam Makhachev on Feb. 26.

ESPN was first to report the booking, which will serve as the headliner for the UFC Fight Night card. In addition to agreeing to the bout, both Dariush and Makhachev have reportedly signed conract extensions with the Las Vegas-based promotion. A location for the event has not been announced.

Dariush enters the matchup on a seven-bout winning streak. The Kings MMA product went 2-0 in 2021, defeating Diego Ferreira via split decision at UFC Fight Night 184 before taking a unanimous verdict against Tony Ferguson at UFC 262. Dariush is 15-4-1 in UFC competition overall, with other notable wins against the likes of Drew Dober, Thiago Moises, Jim Miller and Michael Johnson.

Makhachev, meanwhile, has been victorious in his last nine Octagon appearances. Most recently, the Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner tapped Dan Hooker with a first-round kimura at UFC 267 on Oct. 30. Makhachev has lost just one of his 22 professional outings — a first-round TKO defeat to Adriano Martins in October 2015.