And who beat Dariush ? Not the top of lightweight division either 
Actually I have same questions to Arman and Dariush - why are you so high in ranking, when you beat unranked guys ? But, I know why odds on Arman are so low and Dariush is a huge underdog. Age and the fact that Arman lost to Makhachev via UD That automatically crosses out wrestling and bjj from Dariush skills, and Armans striking is much better Its A+ for me in this math test.
I am more interested to watch Rob Fons vs Figueiredo fight. First seems to retire any second, second only fought lego lover over last 3 years (that bad, as it limits you as a fighter, as a technician)
Actually I have same questions to Arman and Dariush - why are you so high in ranking, when you beat unranked guys ? But, I know why odds on Arman are so low and Dariush is a huge underdog. Age and the fact that Arman lost to Makhachev via UD That automatically crosses out wrestling and bjj from Dariush skills, and Armans striking is much better Its A+ for me in this math test. I am more interested to watch Rob Fons vs Figueiredo fight. First seems to retire any second, second only fought lego lover over last 3 years (that bad, as it limits you as a fighter, as a technician)
Sure Tsarukyan is the rightful favorite... He's younger and more athletic. But then does that totally negate Dariush as a fighter? Don't forget that Dariush beat Gamrot, the guy who Tsarukyan. I think the line is wide at 3.20 for Dariush. That's just around 30% implied probability. Surely Dariush could make the match closer and prolly even go his way. Unless he got KO'd as he tends to be on the chinny side.
We are playing math now
Dont forget that Tsarukyan lost by UD to Makhachev. A guy who subbed Oliveira, who TKOed Dariush (when he supposed to submit him) Its Tsarukyan that gained experience after Makhachev fight vs Dariush who lost peak Oliveira. Dunno, dunno. I am bad at math... Gonna be a good fight.But there individuals, that became champions or have a title fight in just 3-4 fights. And they start their journey unranked. Look how I see current situation. Take any lightweight or lower division. There are fighting tiers. Champion-top6, top7-top15, rest of division. And these guys fight between each other all the time only. If you are a good fighter, maximum you would achieve is being among "rest of division". Maybe Gods of random be kind to you, and someone from top15 will withdrew from fight due to injury and Gods will be double kind to you and you would be selected by match makers.
As you said, there are fighters that get title fights in only a few fights, what differentiates them from those who can't break into the top? They're good. I don't think there are any fighters ranked in the 7-15 tier with consistently good performance and on winning streaks that would stay in that tier for too long. So if we have fighters in that 2nd tier with a mix of wins and losses, they don't really deserve a title shot, and nobody from the top tier would want to fight them as there's nothing to win and there's no money to be made there.
As for the lightweight, we had Fiziev (2nd tier) fighting Gaethje (1st tier) now Tsarukyan (2nd tier) is fighting Dariush (1st tier) (which I see as a 50/50 match). Gamrot will likely get a chance to fight someone from the top 5 (perhaps Oliveira). So I don't think it's all that bad.
It was my general complaint about the fact that fighters higher in top dont want to fight those who are lower. It is understandable, but that slows everything. And then they sit without fights for half a year and more. Previously there were none of that. Previously, fighters were not afraid to fight unranked "because they would lose position in rating". Previously someone from top5 would easily go out with unranked guy, smash him in few rounds, get a fight of the night/performance/KO bonus and be happy.