Beneil Dariush can no longer be ignored in the UFC’s lightweight division.

The veteran fighter picked up the biggest win of his career, outpointing former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson in a unanimous decision at UFC 262. Dariush (21-4-1 MMA, 15-4-1 UFC) beat Ferguson (25-6 MMA, 15-4 UFC) in dominant fashion with 30-27 scores on all three judges’ cards.

The lightweight bout was the UFC 262 co-main event at Toyota Center in Houston. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The lightweight contest was a one-way street for Dariush. In the first round, Dariush started pressing with striking, not landing anything major on Ferguson, who was in defense mode. Dariush eventually got Ferguson down two minutes in. “El Cucuy” worked the rubber guard while landing elbows as Dariush is tried to pass to a dominant position. Dariush eventually passed to half-guard, but lost it and got sucked in back to guard. Not much action happened but enough to keep the fight on the ground until the bell rang.

Quickly into the second, Dariush got Ferguson down once again, but Ferguson snatched a D’Arce choke and the crowd started cheering. He held onto it for a minute, but Dariush stayed calm and got out of the submission. Both fighters began to land a lot of ground-and-pound from both bottom and top. Dariush eventually passed, but they engaged in a scramble and ended up in a leg lock position with Dariush on the offense. It seemed like Dariush did some damage, but Ferguson refused to tap. Dariush was unable to submit Ferguson, but kept top position until the bell rings.

The third was the same as the first two, but with less action. Dariush shot for a takedown, got it, and maintained top position. Ferguson attempted a few scrambles, but was unsuccessful. Dariush dominated the action cleanly over the course of 15 minutes.

Dariush is now on a seven-fight wining streak. His last defeat was to Alexander Hernandez in 2018 at UFC 222. Ferguson lost his third straight after an impressive 12-fight run in which he managed to stay unbeaten for almost seven years.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 262 results include:

• Beneil Dariush def. Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Andre Muniz def. Ronaldo Souza via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:59
• Lando Vannata def. Mike Grundy via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 30-27)
• Jordan Wright def. Jamie Pickett via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:04
• Andrea Lee def. Antonina Shevchenko via submission (triangle choke-armbar) – Round 2, 4:52
• Priscila Cachoeira def. Gina Mazany via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:51
• Tucker Lutz def. Kevin Aguilar via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Christos Giagos def. Sean Soriano via technical submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 3:59