Jason High announces he’s fighting newcomer Baneil Dariush at UFC Fight Night 35
Jason High will remain on next month’s UFC card in Georgia now that he has a new opponent.
Two days after Adlan Amagov (13-2-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) had to pull out of the fight with an undisclosed injury, High (18-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) now will meet UFC newcomer Beneil Dariush (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) next month at UFC Fight Night 35.
High announced the new fight on Friday on his Twitter account, and a person close to the promotion confirmed the fight booking to MMAjunkie. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the matchup has yet to be formally announced.
UFC Fight Night 35 takes place Jan. 15 at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. The event’s main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims that stream on MMAjunkie. The placement of the Amagov-High bout on the card had not yet been revealed.
Dariush, a 24-year-old who trains with Wanderlei Silva in Las Vegas, has five of his six pro wins by stoppage, including a second-round knockout in May and a 36-second armbar submission win in January, both under the Respect in the Cage banner in his home state of California.
High went 2-1 in 2013 in the UFC, with three fights coming in a little more than a five-month stretch between June and November. After dropping his return to the UFC against Erick Silva in June in Brazil, “The Kansas City Bandit†rebounded with a submission win over James Head in August and a decision victory against Anthony Lapsley in November at UFC 167.
Amagov was hoping to extend a three-fight winning streak, including two after coming to the UFC from the now-defunct Strikeforce. The back-to-back UFC wins came after the former light heavyweight and middleweight dropped to welterweight. In October at UFC 166, the Russian, who trains at the Jackson-Winkeljohn camp in Albuquerque, N.M., stopped T.J. Waldburger with a knockout three minutes into the first round. His lone loss over his past eight fights came at the hands of Robbie Lawler, who in March challenges for the UFC’s now-vacant welterweight title.
With the change to the card, UFC Fight Night 35 now includes:
Luke Rockhold vs. Constantinos Philippou
Cole Miller vs. Sam Sicilia
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Mike Easton
Lorenz Larkin vs. Brad Tavares
Brian Houston vs. Trevor Smith
Baneil Dariush vs. Jason High
Justin Edwards vs. Ramsey Nijem
Derek Brunson vs. Yoel Romero
Vinc Pichel vs. Garett Whiteley
John Moraga vs. Dustin Ortiz
Elias Silverio vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
