Beneil Dariush Believes Charles Oliveira Fight ‘Makes The Most Sense’
Beneil Dariush wants his fight with Charles Oliveira rebooked.
The pair were set to face each other in a ranked lightweight bout on October 3 with Dariush taking the fight on short notice. However, Oliveira had to withdraw later on for undisclosed reasons.
The American, though, is still hoping to fight Oliveira and believes he deserves a big opponent in the rankings as he currently rides a five-fight winning streak.
“I think it’s the fight that makes the most sense,” Dariush told MMA Junkie. “We were supposed to fight Oct. 3. I took the fight on short notice. I believe Islam (Makhachev) had to pull out for some reason, and I took the fight on short notice, and I said, ‘OK if that’s the case, I’ll fight him.’ And something happened with him.
“I heard it was either personal problems or family problems. I’m not sure what it exactly was, but I understand. I’m not blaming him for pulling out of the fight, so I understand he had those, but coming back, I think it makes most sense to fight me.”
Oliveira, himself, is on a seven-fight winning streak and has been looking to enter title contention especially with Khabib Nurmagomedov retiring from the sport.
However, Dariush — ranked No. 11 while Oliveira is No. 6 — believes nothing has changed with Nurmagomedov’s retirement.
“He signed to fight me. I signed, so coming back, nothing’s really changed, so why not get that done?” Dariush added. “The only thing that’s different is that there’s no champion, but I don’t understand how that would change the dynamics of it, so I think the fight that makes most sense is for him to fight me and then go from there.”
One thing is for sure — it’s certainly one heck of a fight.
Dariush is coming off a first-round knockout win over Scott Holtzman in August. Oliveira, meanwhile, last competed in March when he submitted former title challenger Kevin Lee.
Who do you have winning in this potential matchup?
