I guess we no longer have to debate the merits of a Beneil Dariush title shot.
The longtime lightweight veteran was finished in the first frame by former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira in the UFC 289 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, which took place last Sat. night (June 10, 2023) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Watch the video highlights here.
The victory got Oliveira back into the win column after losing his lightweight title to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 last Oct. in Abu Dhabi. It remains to be seen if “Do Bronx” did enough to impress promotion president Dana White, who was slow to greenlight an immediate rematch.
Makhachev took notice of the Brazilian’s win on Twitter.
“Congrats Charles,” the defending champ wrote. “But still there’s levels in this game.”
The once-beaten Makhachev made his first lightweight title defense by turning away featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski earlier this year in Perth. The performance earned the Dagestani bruiser a summer vacation with a tentative return scheduled for the upcoming fall card in Abu Dhabi.
Will Oliveira be his next opponent?
“Do Bronx” will have competition from the winner of the UFC 291 main event, where Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje battle for the “BMF” belt. In addition, there has been talk of giving Volkanovski another shot at dethroning Makhachev, assuming “The Great” can get past Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in July.
Hopefully we’ll have some answers once the dust settles on July 29 in Salt Lake City.
Tô de volta! Amo vocês – obrigado
I’m back! Love y’all#UFC289 #UFCBR
https://t.co/fwFkqtBuNf pic.twitter.com/ib8haK0gdh
— Charles ‘DoBronxs’ Oliveira (@CharlesDoBronxs) June 11, 2023
For complete UFC 289: “Nunes vs. Aldana” results and play-by-play, click HERE!