Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush are all set to go to war in the co-main event of UFC 289 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this coming weekend.
The No.1-ranked Brazilian contender will face the Iranian-American No.4-ranked UFC lightweight, in what could be a title-eliminator bout.
Given the scale of the bout, one wouldn’t be remiss to think that either fighter wouldn’t want to get close to each other before the event. However, given the nature of both Oliveira and Dariush, it came as no surprise when both lightweights shared a heartfelt moment a couple of days before competing for the possible title-contender spot.
An excerpt from UFC 289 Embedded: Vlog 3 shows the two fighters running into each other at the hotel lobby, with Dariush holding his infant daughter. Oliveira greets the Iranian-American fighter before briefly coddling his infant daughter.
Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush can be considered as two of the nicest fighters in the UFC. That being said, these two fighters are in the top five of, arguably, the deepest division in the UFC.
Both fighters last fought at UFC 280, last October. At the Abu Dhabi fight card, Charles Oliveira lost his 11-fight win-streak to Islam Makhachev via second-round submission. Beneil Dariush found success in a three-round war with Polish fighter Mateusz Gamrot.
Skip to 00:34 for the heartfelt moment:
Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush: Two grapplers with refined striking
The marquee trait of Charles Oliveira is his superior grappling skills, and his ability to finish fights off of his back. The ‘Pride of Favela’ has a whopping 16 submissions in the UFC (holding the record for the highest number) and 21 across his career.
Beneil Dariush is also a seasoned grappler having multiple world titles to his name across different belts (Gi and No-Gi), along with having a black belt in jiu-jitsu under the legendary Romulo Barral.
Dariush showcased excellent takedown-defense and scrambling ability against the wrestling-heavy polish fighter and multiple-time ADCC Europe medalist Mateusz Gamrot. Dariush’s skills range from wrestling to attacking leglocks, with a complete arsenal of grappling skills.
Watch Beneil Dariush vs. Mateusz Gamrot below:
Although, well-versed in grappling, both lightweights are extremely competent in the striking department, having a combined 14 knockouts across their careers.
Charles Oliveira has nine wins by knockout, with finishes over names like Michael Chandler, Jared Gordon and Nick Lentz to name a few. Beneil Dariush has five career wins by knockout with finishes over Scott Holtzman, Drakkar Klose and James Vick.
Dariush trains at Kings MMA, under the famed Rafael Cordeiro, who previously coached at the same gym ‘do Bronx’ trains at, i.e., Chute Boxe Academy. In a way, both fighters have a shared legacy, when it comes to striking and Muay Thai.
