UFC 248 Predictions

Despite a loss to seasoned striker, David Teymur, back in December 2017, talented wrestler Drakkar Klose has looked pretty good in his UFC career so far. He's had plenty of dominating performances, grinding out victories over opponents like Christos Giagos, Bobby Green and Lando Vannata.

Those three fighters are certainly talented, but rather unheralded in a stacked lightweight division. Klose will be hoping to take out a top talent so he can cement himself as threat at 155lb. Luckily for him, his opponent, UFC veteran Beneil Dariush, is not only a relatively well-known fighter who could help push Klose into the top-15, he's also the biggest fight-finishing threat he's ever competed against.

Dariush has underrated punching power - as James Vick found out at UFC 199 - and his grappling is extremely slick and sneaky. He has a very active submission game and with Klose being the type of fighter who wants to control opponents and land ground and pound, it means there's a strong chance that the battle will hit the mat at some point.

If it does, it's easy to imagine Dariush locking up a submission and taking Klose out. His grappling is far too smooth and the constant offense should put Klose in plenty of trouble throughout.

Dariush via submission.