Beneil Dariush promises ‘absolute domination’ of ex-champion Charles Oliveira… while insisting he won’t shy away from grappling, despite Brazil’s record for most submissions in UFC history
- Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira will meet on June 10 at UFC 289
- The winner could be next in line to take on lightweight champion Islam Makhachev
Beneil Dariush wants to stake his claim to a 155-pound UFC title by applying ‘absolute dominance’ to former champ Charles Oliveira.
The 34-year-old will face Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 289 at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on June 10.
Dariush has an eight-fight winning streak in the bout, including a unanimous decision victory over fast-rising prospect Mateusz Gamrot in his last appearance.
He was the clear winner of the night as the judges awarded him a points win with scorecards of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
However, the No. 4 ranked lightweight believes the fight was ‘too close’ for his own taste and vows to leave the judges in no doubt when he dukes it out with Oliveira next month.
Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush meet on June 10 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver
Oliveira is a former UFC lightweight champion and is currently ranked No. 1 at 155lb
Dariush is eager to test his ground game against Oliveira, who holds the record for most submissions in UFC history (16)
“The focus of this fight is to be perfect,” said Dariush MMA junkie. ‘Personally I see it as dominance. I intend to dominate this fight.
“I want to remind people because I think my last fight was a little close.
“The fight will be absolute domination, that’s what it’s going to be. I’ll do what I set out to do, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. I hope so.’
Known for his all-action style of fighting, Oliveira is always looking for a finish.
He holds the record for the most submissions in UFC history with 16, but Dariush will not shy away from taking to the ground and relishing the chance to test his grappling skills against Oliveira’s.
“I actually get more turned on by the grabbing,” Dariush added. “I’m not going to lie, to get into some of the scrambles with him and just be able to go crazy on the floor, that’s just as exciting as the stand-up.
Dariush says his last fight with Mateusz Gamrot was “too close” for his own taste
“A chance to keep this fight on the ground, I’m really looking forward to that because you see him subdue so many people and you wonder how good his jiu-jitsu is.”
Dariush and Oliveira were scheduled to face each other at UFC 288 earlier this month, but the fight was rescheduled for June 10 after Bronx was forced to pull out due to an undisclosed injury.
Oliveira held the UFC lightweight title for twelve months between 2021 and 2022 before being stripped on the scales ahead of his second defense against Justin Gaethje.
He then stopped Gaethje in the opening round and was booked for a vacant title fight with Islam Makhachev in October, but was submitted by the Russian in the second round.