Jump To
Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira has an unusual secret ahead of his co-main event bout at UFC 289. Paired up against rising contender Beneil Dariush, ‘Do Bronx’ believes his upbeat persona is going to make a difference in the fight on Saturday night.
Charles Oliveira feels happy
In an interview with Brazilian news outlet UOL, Oliveira explained that he is looking forward to facing an opponent such as Dariush at UFC 289. The reason for the excitement is simple to define for the former champion, he is happy to take on a respectful athlete and feels prepared to put on an impressive performance for the fans.
“I’m really excited for this fight. He deserves all the respect in the world. He sells the fight the same way I do. He’s really tough both on the ground and on the feet, he’s a strategist. The key factor is my happiness. How happy I am to go after this win. I want to win in any way possible. I’m happy, focused and ready.”.
But Beneil Dariush is happy, too
The excitement ahead of UFC 289 actually seems to go both ways. In an interview with MMA Junkie, Dariush also expressed how thrilled he was about facing a former champion such as Charles Oliveira in the Octagon. Though ‘Benny’ did put more emphasis on the grappling exchanges he could have with a BJJ blackbelt like Do Bronx, he was also looking forward to test his striking against the former champion.
“I actually get more pumped up about the grappling,” “I’m not going to lie, to get into some of the scrambles with him and to be able to kind of just go nuts on the ground, that is just as exciting as the standup is. An opportunity to have this fight on the ground, I’m actually really looking forward to that because you see him submit so many people, and you wonder how good his jiu-jitsu is.
“But then at the same time, you see him lose when he shouldn’t lose in the grappling, so I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on him and getting a feel of his grappling.”
Catch this happy lightweight battle at UFC 289
In his last outing, Charles Oliveira (33-9-1) got submitted via arm-triangle choke by now champion Islam Makhachev in October 2022. The loss snapped the 33-year-old’s longest streak of his UFC career, with 11 straight wins. During this time, Do Broxn defeated some of the most notable names in the lightweight division, including former interim champions Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson and ex-Bellator champ Michael Chandler.
Meanwhile, Beneil Dariush (22-4-1) is on an impressive streak of his own, having won eight fights in a row. Most recently, the 34-year-old bested both former KSW double champion Mateusz Gamrot and the aforementioned Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision, respectively in October 2022 and May 2021. In fact, the rising contender’s last loss dates back to March 2018, when he got knocked out by Alexander Hernandez.
Now, Charles Oliveira is expected to take on Beneil Dariush at UFC 289’s co-main event, in Vancouver, Canada. The June 10 card is scheduled to be headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight, between the champion, Amanda Nunes, and challenger Irene Aldana.
You know you can count on us for quick, consistent quality UFC coverage. Bloody Elbow is an independent, reader supported publication. Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with our best work and learn how you can support the site.
Join the new Bloody Elbow
Our Substack is where we feature the work of writers like Zach Arnold, John Nash and Karim Zidan. We’re fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. Please help us by subscribing today.
About the author
