Beneil Dariush reveals new targeted date for Charles Oliveira clash following UFC 288 withdrawal
Beneil Dariush is not happy that he’s no longer fighting on May 6th against Charles Oliveira at UFC 288 but did receive some good news from UFC president Dana White about future plans.
Currently riding an eight-fight win streak, Dariush is one of the most feared contenders in the lightweight division. While many, including himself, believe that he’s ready for a title shot: the UFC believes differently. They want Dariush to fight with Oliveira in a battle that would surely be an explosive and exciting barn-burner of a matchup.
The two were already scheduled to face one another back in 2020, but Oliveira also withdrew from that matchup as well. So, this marks the second time that ‘Do Bronx’ has canceled a fight against ‘Benny’.
Beneil Dariush reveals new date for the Charles Oliveira fight, reacts to ‘Do Bronx’ canceling their UFC 288 co-main matchup
“It is what it is,” Beneil Dariush began in an interview with The Schmo. “This is just the fight game. It’s nothing new. Instant reaction, I’m like, dang man. I was really upset. And you know, this isn’t our first booking… I believe one time I was offered to him, and he said no, and I believe there was a second time where he accepted it (the fight) and then dropped out and went and fought Tony Ferguson. This feels like the third or fourth time (that Oliveira has canceled on him).”
The video cuts to a clip of a previous interview the two did back in January of this year. Dariush is sitting back on a couch and saying he’s not confident at all that this Oliveira fight will come to fruition. Little did he know, but he pretty much predicted the future back in January as even then, he had a strong gut feeling ‘Do Bronx’ would withdraw from their matchup.
The Schmo then prompts Dariush to talk about how he’s been denied a title shot despite his gigantic winning streak and speak about how the UFC is looking to push back the Oliveira fight and reschedule it for a later date.
“I was actually pretty upset at that time,” Beneil Dariush said. “I took a minute and kinda calmed down… So, I go in, and I basically say to them, ‘Hey, if that’s the case, if he (Charles Oliveira) is not available, let me fight Makhachev in July or August.’ They (the matchmakers) are like, ‘No, we have to save Makhachev for October for the Abu Dhabi card.’ I was like: ‘OK, I don’t want to wait for October, but I still want to fight for the belt.'”
So, Beneil Dariush asked the UFC why he couldn’t just fight Makhachev in October then. To which they replied (according to Dariush) that he wasn’t the #1 contender (despite being on the largest winning streak in the division) and that a few names were ahead of him. Beneil Dariush made sure to note that Dustin Poirier was one of the names they specifically mentioned.
Beneil Darisuh continues breaking down his conversation with the UFC about title shots and future fights, explains how he offered to fight Arman Tsarukyan on May 6th
“At that point, I was about to flip a table,” Beneil Dariush chuckled. “…But, the thing that kind of brought me back was thinking: ‘Well, I don’t want to wait till October to fight anyways. I like fighting.”
Dariush then continues recapping his negotiations with the UFC. He brought up Arman Tsarukyan and asked if he could just fight him on May 6th. The UFC mysteriously declined, even though Tsarukyan’s opponent Renato Moicano had withdrawn from their matchup, and Tsarukyan was also without a fight.
“So, these are the things we kinda went over, too,” Beneil Dariush continued. “They said they wanna push the fight (with Oliveira) to June 10th. By the way, I still don’t have a contract, so I’m not sure if that’s for sure, but that’s what they told me they wanna do. At first, I wasn’t about it because I was like: ‘What if this guy pulls out (again)?'”
“But then, I said a couple of things. Like, ‘Listen. If this guy pulls out again, I want the title shot.’ It was that (he requested), and basically a pay bump too. And they agreed to both things… So if he pulls out, I do get the title shot. It’s hard to say no to that. So I said yeah, let’s do it, and I agreed to June 10th.”
So, there you have it, folks. Dariush is still expecting to face Oliveira with a new date supposed to be getting sealed in stone with a contract soon, and if ‘Do Bronx’ pulls out of the matchup again for any reason, it seems ‘Benny’ will finally get the title shot he’s been chasing for so long.
What are your thoughts on the situation with Beneil Dariush and Oliveira, and do you think the UFC is crazy for saying Dariush isn’t the #1 contender even though he’s on such a gigantic winning streak against elite lightweight competition?
