UFC 179 results recap: Beneil Dariush vs Carlos Diego Ferreira fight review and analysis

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweights Carlos Diego Ferreira and Beneil Dariush clashed last night (Sat., Oct. 25, 2014) at UFC 179 inside Maracanazinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Though Ferreira did not have a ton of UFC experience prior to this bout, the Brazilian had performed quite impressively. Coming off of two quick finishes, Ferreira was looking to continue building momentum.

Dariush also had proven himself a potent finisher prior to his first trip to Brazil. Then, for the first time in his career, Dariush was matched with another grappling specialist and entered the bout looking to prove his overall mixed martial arts (MMA) game was superior.

He did just that.

For much of the first frame, Dariush took the role of the superior striker. He landed numerous hard kicks, and Ferreira whiffed on many of his punches. The two also engaged in the clinch, dueling for position along the cage. Dariush eventually landed a takedown and spent the rest of the round avoiding submission attempts.

The second round was a repeat of the first. After controlling the stand up for about half the round, Dariush managed to land another takedown. This time, however, Ferreira was much less active with his submission attempts and appeared to be slowing down.

Ferreira clearly entered with a sense of urgency. Capitalizing on Dariush's habit of backing straight up, the Brazilian landed a series of hard punches. However, Ferreira managed to secure a Muay Thai plumb and stall Ferreira's offense.

Not long after, Ferreira was taken down once again. Similar the to second round, Ferreira failed to get much going from his back, as Dariush controlled him until the end of the bout.

Dariush performed very well in this bout. Despite going against a fellow credentialed jiu-jitsu practitioner, Dariush was able to impose his game more often than not. Plus, when he was put in bad positions -- a rare occurance -- Dariush kept scrambling.

Dariush also showed continued improvement on his feet. He's been training with Muay Thai legend Rafael Cordeiro at Reign MMA, and it showed. In particular, his leg kicks were quite effective. Still, he needs to work on his defense, as Ferreira was able to land whenever he got aggressive with his combinations.

That's not a good trait in a division full of competent strikers.

For his next bout, expect Dariush to face off with another lightweight in the middle of the division, as he's not yet earned a Top 15-ranked fighter. Earlier on the card, Yan Cabral had an impressive lightweight debut, and a match up between these grappling specialists could be an entertaining battle.

This was an incredibly disappointing showing by the Brazilian. Not only did he lack urgency and seem sluggish throughout, but he was thoroughly beaten in every area of the game by a younger fighter.

Not only does Ferreira need to improve upon his conditioning, but his wrestling was also pretty poor. In his last two bouts, Ferreira countered his opponent's attempts to wrestle well, landing hip tosses or working back to his feet quickly.

This was quite the regression.

For Ferreira's next bout, he'll likely end up with another lightweight coming off of a loss. Hopefully, it's one that will force Ferreira to wrestle hard continuously and show improvement.

At UFC 179, Carlos Diego Ferreira was upset by Beneil Dariush. How far can the Iranian climb in the lightweight division?

For complete UFC 179 "Aldo vs Mendes" results and play-by-play click HERE.