UFC lightweight champ, Islam Makhachev, has a horse in the race this Saturday and it is not Charles Oliveira. This weekend, UFC 289 takes place in the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada. In the main event, the women’s bantamweight title holder Amanda Nunes fights Irene Aldana. In the co-main event, the above-mentioned Charles Oliveira will fight Beneil Dariush.
The lightweight fight is going to have title implications behind it. The winner between Dariush and Oliveira may get a chance to fight the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the upcoming PPV event in Abu Dhabi, UAE. While Makhachev has fought Oliveira before, Dariush is a completely new challenge. Hence, Makhachev wants the Iranian-American fighter to come out on top on June 10.
Oliveira and Dariush are ready to bring the intensity to #UFC289 😤 pic.twitter.com/xOBDEcgqjj
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 9, 2023
On a recent UFC media day, the champ added, “I hope Beneil win because I already beat Oliveira and i need some new challenge you know. Dariush gonna be good fight because this guy have good skills, striking skills, wrestling skills, and grappling skills. That’s why it’s gonna be good fight.” (h/t via vivaMooSports)
Islam Makhachev is open to giving Charles Oliveira a rematch
Despite rooting for Beneil Dariush, the Dagestani fighter is also open to having a rematch against the former champ Charles Oliveira. The pair previously clashed at UFC 280. It was the fight where Islam Makhachev made Khabib Nurmagomedov and his father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s dreams come true and became the undisputed UFC lightweight champion of the world!
Following that, Charles Oliveira went on a sabbatical as he wanted to take some time away from fighting. But, Charles did have an opportunity to make a very quick return at UFC 284 in Australia. According to Do Bronx‘s coach, UFC offered them an immediate rematch. But Oliveira had his heart set on taking a vacation and turned down the opportunity.
Hence, many predicted that Charles may have lost his opportunity to regain the title. But, if the champ is to be believed, Oliveira can definitely get another crack at the title with a win over Beneil Dariush. In the same interview, Makhachev stated that he would be open to fighting Oliveira once more if the latter showed a valiant performance at UFC 289.
Makhachev revealed, “But Oliveira, if he want rematch, if he show good performance, maybe he’s gonna be next.”
Regardless of who wins this weekend, Islam Makhachev is set to have a tough challenge. Nobody expected Alexander Volkanovski to put up the performance that he did against Oliveira. Hence, both Dariush and Oliveira would be looking forward to a potential contest against the Nurmagomedov protege. Dariush and Oliveira would take a lot of inspiration from how Volkanovski made Makhachev look human.
Who would you like to see Islam Makhchev fight? Do you think Charles Oliveira should get another fight against Makhachev? Or do you want to see him fight Beneil Dariush who is a fresh match-up? Let us know in the comments down below.