Beneil Dariush confirms UFC targeting fight against Charles Oliveira next
Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush confirmed that the UFC is targeting a fight pitting him against Charles Oliveira next.
Dariush is the No. 4 ranked lightweight in the UFC. He is currently riding an eight-fight win streak, which includes a notable decision win over Mateusz Gamrot in his last outing at UFC 268 last October. On paper, he deserves to fight for the belt next. But with UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev taking on featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in a super fight next, Dariush will have to wait for a title shot, and likely win another fight in the meantime.
Speaking to The Schmo, Dariush confirmed that the UFC has been in touch with him about his next fight, and it looks like he will be fighting the former champion, Oliveira. According to Dariush, the promotion was originally targeting the fight to take place at UFC 283 in Brazil, but now it has been pushed back several times and is being targeted for May.
“Charles Oliveira, here is the thing I have been having with Charles. The UFC originally was like hey what do you think about doing it in Brazil? Which was last week. I was like can I get a little bit more time, it turns out my MCL was torn, I didn’t know it was that bad. It was before the fight (I injured it). It wasn’t super bad I just had to wear a knee brace. I got it checked out, it is actually torn so I would like to start my camp fresh, can I have a little extra time and do February? They said okay we will do February. February turned into March, March turned into April and now they are talking about May. I’ve been waiting for a while,” Dariush said (via BJPenn.com).
If the Dariush vs. Oliveira fight does get booked, one would imagine that the winner of this fight would be next in line to fight for the lightweight title against whoever emerges victorious from Makhachev vs. Volkanovski at UFC 284.
Who do you think would win a lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira?
