UFC 248 results: Beneil Dariush flattens Drakkar Klose with lights out KO following crazy exchange

Beneil Dariush is best known as a submission specialist but he has no problem throwing hands when the occasion calls for it.

At UFC 248, Dariush got the chance to show off his knockout power as he engaged in a wild exchange with Drakkar Klose in the second round that ended with a hellacious left hand. As soon as Dariush connected, Klose’s eyes rolled back into his head as he crumbled to the canvas and the referee rushed into stop the fight with the end coming at 1:00 into round two.

“I have hands,” Dariush said afterwards. “I’m not afraid.”

At the start of the fight, it looked like Dariush was going to wrap up a submission win after he spent the better part of five minutes latched onto Klose’s back while searching for a rear naked choke.

Klose managed to find a way to escape every time Dariush seemingly found an opening for the submission. Back in his corner, Dariush had to get his legs iced down after hanging onto Klose’s back from the standing position for almost the entire round.

Klose did his best to take advantage of Dariush slowing down as he started pursuing him with heavy punches. Just when it looked like Klose might have Dariush in trouble, it was the Iranian born lightweight who decided to just bite down on his mouthpiece and start exchanging strikes with him.

That’s when Dariush connected with a shot of his own that wobbled Klose. A few moments later as he rushed forward during a wild exchange, Dariush blasted him with the left hand that put him down and out for good.

The knockout put Dariush on a four-fight win streak while wrapping up his third straight finish in his past four victories. Consistently viewed as one of the toughest outs in the division, Dariush might be staring at a top 15 opponent following his latest win at UFC 248.