Charles Oliveira is reportedly set to return to the octagon at UFC 288 on May 6. ‘do Bronx’ will be returning to action for the first time since losing his lightweight strap to Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 in October.
After multiple rumors about a potential booking against perennial top contender Beneil Dariush, Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima reportedly confirmed the booking to MMA journalist Álvaro Colmenero. Colmenero wrote on Twitter:
“? Diego Lima, Charles Oliveira’s manager and coach, confirmed to me that Oliveira will fight Beneil Dariush on May 6 at UFC 288.”
Charles Oliveira dropped a lopsided second-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev at the UFC 280 headliner, marking the end of an eleven-fight win streak.
Meanwhile, Beneil Dariush is riding a magnificent eight-fight win streak topped off with a dominant decision victory over surging Polish contender Mateusz Gamrot.
The former UFC lightweight champion recently confirmed that his managers Jorge Patino and Diego Lima were in negotiations with Dariush’s team. Oliveira is plotting a title shot at the end of the year if he can get his hands raised against ‘Benny’. The former lightweight champ recently told Sherdog:
“It’s true that we are negotiating to face Dariush, who is coming from a gigantic sequence of wins. My managers Jorge Patino and Diego Lima are taking care of that. As I said in other interviews, that’s a moment where we have to think with reason not emotion. I must fight the one who will take me to the title shot. My plan is [to] fight April or May, and fight again for the belt by the end of the year [against] the winner of [Alexander] Volkanovski and Makhachev.”