Beneil Dariush thinks it would be ill advised to write off Charles Oliveira at this point in his career. These two actually previously fought at UFC 289 with Oliveira finishing Dariush with strikes in the first round of their June 2023 contest. During a recent interview with Submission Radio, the number nine ranked lightweight offered up his thoughts on Oliveira's next fight with Ilia Topuria as Dariush said,
“I think it’s a lot closer than people think. I think Charles is really tough. He’s got a good chin, he’s got good jiu-jitsu, he’s got great striking. And what’s going to be difficult for Ilia is Charles’s striking is, I think, really dangerous against boxers—the way he throws his knees, the way he clinches, those are things you can do to slow down Ilia. Because, for example, a good boxer will dip low to fake or feint to get in on the inside, and that’s times where Charles will just raise his knee and mess with your timing or throw a kick, things like that. So, I think the fight’s a lot closer."
"I understand why people are favoring Ilia, and I think if you had to ask me, I probably would favor him as well, but I don’t think it’s going to be like, ‘Oh, he’s going to walk through Charles like everybody thinks.’ Charles is always dangerous. Here’s what I would say: I know Ilia’s jiu-jitsu is very good because when he fought Ryan Hall, he did really well. Even if the fight was on the ground or he was throwing ground and pound, he did fine."
Beneil Dariush continued, "The fact that he was able to stop Bryce [Mitchell]’s takedowns and eventually turn it around, and when he was on top, he was able to just get into positions really quickly—Bryce has good jiu-jitsu. Like, you cannot be a fan of his, but you can’t say he’s not a good grappler. So, I think Ilia’s grappling is very, very good, and if anything, it could be considered underrated.”
Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira's assignments for UFC 317
Beneil Dariush has his next in-cage assignment locked in as he will do battle with Renato Moicano on the UFC 317 main card. Moicano enters the cage as the number ten ranked lightweight contender on a card that will feature a lot of major movement in the top ten of the 155 pound rankings. As mentioned earlier, Charles Oliveira will be fighting Ilia Topuria for the vacant lightweight title in what will serve as the main event attraction for this pay-per-view.
