Oliveira’s first win since losing the UFC lightweight title attracted all kinds of praise from his fellow fighters.
Charles Oliveira’s first non-title fight since 2020 saw the Brazilian score a fantastic finish against Beneil Dariush in the co-main event of UFC 289.
The matchup between top lightweights was originally meant to take place at UFC 288 before an Oliveira injury pushed it to UFC 289, where it was given co-main event status before the women’s bantamweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Irene Aldana.
Easily the most-anticipated fight of the entire card for many fans, Dariush entered the bout on an incredible eight-fight win streak and was hoping a victory over the former lightweight champion might book his first chance at UFC gold. “Benny” had moments of success in the opening few minutes of the fight, but late in the first round Oliveira dropped the 34-year-old and rained down punches to close things out.
Following the win Oliveira will likely turn his attention to the UFC 291 matchup between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier, as the winner of that fight would be the only potential obstacle to a rematch with UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev.
