Charles Oliveira put himself within touching distance of a lightweight title shot by knocking out Beneil Dariush at UFC 289.
Oliveira came out aggressively as the fight got underway and the Brazilian seemed to catch Dariush by surprise with a big head kick. Dariush held his own after Oliveira’s early flurry as the American scored the first takedown of the fight and landed some heavy ground and pound.
Dariush continued to throw some big punches on the ground but Oliveira managed to get back to his feet and put together some good combinations on the feet. 'Do Bronx' had Dariush on wobbly legs after landing a big head kick and the American desperately tried to shoot for a takedown to recover. Oliveira denied the takedown attempt and reigned down hammer-fists which forced referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight as Dariush was unable to defend himself.
The win has likely set up a rematch for Oliveira against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. 'Do Bronx' missed out on the chance to reclaim the 155lb belt when he was tapped out by Makhachev at UFC 280 last October. Makhachev reacted to Oliveira's knockout win by tweeting: "Congrats Charles. But still there’s levels in this game."
Oliveira was on cloud nine after stopping Dariush as he said: "The champion has a name, it's Charles Oliveira brother! Last time you saw 10 per cent of me, this time you saw 120 per cent of me. That hand is heavy and is ready." Oliveira also welcomed another fight against Makhachev and said he would fight the Russian in his backyard.
What were your thoughts on Charles Oliviera and Beneil Dariush's fight at UFC 289? Let us know in the comments section below
Elsewhere at UFC 289, Amanda Nunes defended her women's bantamweight title with a dominant win against Mexican challenger Irene Aldana in the main event. Nunes was in cruise control for most of the fight as Aldana was being out-landed on the feet and taken down with ease. The scores after five rounds read 50-44, 50-44 and 50-43 in Nunes' favour after the final bell.
Mike Malott had a great performance as the Canadian tapped out Adam Fugitt in the second round much to the delight of the Vancouver crowd. Dan Ige and Marc-Andre Barriault picked up decision victories on the main card whilst there were also wins for the likes of Aiemann Zahabi and Kyle Nelson on the prelims.
