UFC lightweight contender, Beneil Dariush has revealed his anger toward former undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira ahead of their potential title-eliminator at UFC 288 in May – claiming the Brazilian should have accepted a fight against him last month, rather than forcing their May matchup.
Dariush, in the midst of an impressive eight-fight winning streak, most recently featured at UFC 280 akin to Oliveira, stopping the surge of former two-weight KSW titleholder, Mateusz Gamrot in a one-sided unanimous decision victory.
As for Oliveira, the Sao Paulo submission ace has been sidelined since that October pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi, UAE – dropping a vacant lightweight title fight and his 12-fight winning run in a submission loss to current undisputed titleholder, Islam Makhachev.
Beneil Dariush expresses his anger toward UFC 288 opponent, Charles Oliveira
Drawing Oliveira – the promotion’s most prolific submission artist and finisher, Kings MMA staple, Dariush claimed he was “p*ssed” at the former ahead of their Newark, New Jersey co-headliner next month, questioning why he didn’t accept a fight earlier.
“Man, I’m not gonna lie, [I’m a] little p*ssed at Charles (Oliveira),” Beneil Dariush told The Schmo. “We should have done this fight in early March. I should be chilling right now, spending time with my baby. But, I have to do practice, I have to do my recovery stuff. I have to eat right, lose weight, and still spend time with my baby. Not gonna lie, pretty p*ssed. I’m going to make sure, I’m going to be as ready as possible, is the way I’m going to put it.”
“The game plan is to be perfect,” Beneil Dariush explained. “If we fight three rounds, he (Charles Oliveira) doesn’t get anything from me. I win every second, I win every position and I dominate the fight. That’s the game plan. I believe I will finish him before then, but my focus is three rounds.” (Transcribed by BJPENN.com)
Predicting his own win over Dariush, Chute Boxe staple, Oliveira claimed he would be entering his UFC 288 fight with the Iranian-born contender with the mindset of a “lion”.