Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush will face off at UFC 289 in Canada, serving as the co-main event on June 10th.
The UFC 289 main event is a bantamweight title clash between Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena.
Oliveira was forced to withdraw from UFC 288 due to an injury leading the bout to be pushed back to UFC 289.
Dariush inquired about a title shot but was told the UFC is saving the lightweight champ for October.
In a recent interview on the YouTube channel, An0maly, Dariush shared his insights on his postponed bout against Oliveira. When asked if he would have been comfortable going to the ground against Oliveira, Dariush made a bold claim.
“I train with a lot of jiu-jitsu guys who are better than him,” Dariush said. He went on to clarify that he wasn’t trying to belittle Oliveira, adding, “I mean it’s not like I’m trying to insult him or anything but these guys are world-class jiu-jitsu guys and I train with them and it’s awful man.”
Dariush’s claim is particularly noteworthy given Oliveira’s reputation in the MMA community for his jiu-jitsu skills.
However, Dariush seems confident in his abilities and the training he’s received.
The American also discussed the humbling experience of training in jiu-jitsu. “They’re so good. It’s really humbling to be honest with you today,” Dariush said. “You know going into MMA practice against world-class guys and winning all your rounds and then you go into a jiu-jitsu practice and you do jiu-jitsu with the really good jiu-jitsu guys and you lose all your rounds. It’s very humbling.”
Dariush’s training with world-class jiu-jitsu athletes could give him an edge in his future outing against Oliveira. However, only time will tell if Dariush’s claims will hold up in the octagon.
