A fight between two of the top lightweights in the UFC has come together for May, according to Charles Oliveira’s coach and manager.
What Charles Oliveira wants, Charles Oliveira gets.
The former lightweight champion has been calling for a fight against No. 4 ranked Beneil Dariush for weeks now, and it sounds like the UFC has granted him his wish. The booking was revealed an interview between KO Imenero’s Alvaro Colmenero and Diego Lima.
“Diego Lima, Charles Oliveira’s manager and coach, confirmed to me that Oliveira will fight Beneil Dariush on May 6 at UFC 288,” Colmenero wrote.
UFC 288 hasn’t been officially announced yet and doesn’t have a location. But it apparently has a very strong co-main as the Oliveira and Dariush scrap has major title implications. That’s why “Do Bronx” has been calling for a fight against Dariush — he and his coaches see it as the fastest way back to the title.
A title they’re hoping Islam Makhachev is still holding.
”Thinking about Charles, I want Makhachev to beat Volkanovski, [Oliveira] to beat Dariush and come back for the belt,” Lima said. Regarding Oliveira’s loss to Makhachev, he said “It wasn’t Charles’ night, he didn’t fight well, it was another Charles. Our obligation is to train and come back for that victory. Our idea is to get Charles back to who he is.”
Lima also shared his thoughts on the recent announcement of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler as The Ultimate Fighter coaches and eventual opponents.
“If Charles knew English, the UFC would have liked to make TUF between him and Conor McGregor,” Lima claimed.
Charles Oliveira hasn’t fought since a disappointing second round submission loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi. Prior to that, “Do Bronx” went on a legendary 11-fight win streak, destroying Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. That’s a wild string of opponents to beat, and it will be interesting to see if he can return to his winning ways against the always tough Beneil Dariush.
Dariush is on his own impressive streak, having gone 8-0 since 2018. Further down the card at UFC 280, he defeated Mateusz Gamrot with relative ease, earning 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 scores from the judges. He’s been nursing a torn MCL since then, but has stated in the past that May sounded like a good date to him.