Johnson vs. Dariush

This is the official discussion thread for Johnson vs. Dariush. Let's see what you've got.

Excellent fight and big step up for Beneil. After dominating Jim Miller, I think he's ready, but Johnson's footwork has been spot-on and I think he lands the cleaner shots.

Dariuuuussh!

Love this fight. Dariush has legitimate potential to go in there and beat Michael Johnson, stealing all his thunder in the process. I like it.

Heart over mind pick here ... I have a feeling MJ will frustrate Benny with speed but I'm trying to will Benny into pulling a late sub off. If Benny gets a hold on him it'll be fun, but MJ's not easy to get down and hold there.

Both guys are really talented Johnson can maybe get the edge on Dariush with his explosiveness but Dariush seemed like he was coming into his own with his last fight.

Dariush will continue to prove people wrong. I'm more impressed with this guy every time I watch him. 

Haha ^ those two posts say the same thing.  Yet one is getting up voted whike the other is getting downvoted.

I upvoted Cthulhu and I hate him ...

I was joking and your points are valid ;)

I think Benny is going to get this at some point to the ground ... I usually wouldn't worry about that in a Michael Johnson fight, he's improved so much at getting back up and making the TD very hard to get, but in Benny's case, he's on a different level ... he's in Gunni/Maia territory as far as I'm concerned, so even guys with good ground games are going to get caught ... I just think that in Johnson's case it's gonna take a while.

I think it's relatively unlikely to stay on the floor for more than a few seconds. Johnson is great at using distance to his advantage, he's quicker and uses better combinations than Dariush. Johnson is pretty cat light, hard to get a hold of and hard to hit. It's hard to gauge Johnson, he's won some really good fights though...Ferguson, Castillo, Lauzon, Barboza yet he's also got caught in a submission by all sorts of guys, none of which he was supposed to lose to. 

Dariush is slower, but has more power...especially in his kicks, I think he will welcome fighting off his back, so I expect a kick heavy striking approach and pressure moving forward, looking to hurt, clinch and takedown Johnson if he corners him against the cage.

That said, I think Johnson will be able to circle off the cage and catch Dariush when he's on the outside of Dariush strikes. I think he will be able to keep Dariush on the end of his strikes and possibly humble Dariush with encounters whenever he tries to throw heavy kicks. I think Johnson will be completely defensive if it hits the mat and look to do nothing but either get up or get a stand-up, so I don't think it will be easy for Dariush to get the submission, I don't see Johnson being overzealous like he was vs Paul Sass...He knows Dariush is another level.

I've never picked against Dariush and I never pick a Michael Johnson fight right....But I think Johnson really has improved enough and is the better fighter. Great fight.

Wow, your post made me curious so I looked. I'm 1-5 picking Dariush and 2-8 picking Johnson. 

Since I've already made a pick and can't void it, I'm thinking of switching my pick to Johnson so Dariush will win.

Whoever downvoted me is stupid and everyone should know by now, no one knows MMA better than The Nomad.

I rarely pick MJ right and I haven't picke dhim to win ... I have only myself to blame for putting this dent in Dariush's career ... on the other hand he's the only one to blame for the Nijem fiasco, so we're even.