Charles Oliveira vs Beneil Dariush Prediction: Ex-Champ is Scarred and Destined to Lose

On the night of May 7, the big UFC 288 tournament will take place in the United States. In the co-main event, former Brazilian champion Charles Oliveira will share the octagon with another dangerous challenger, Beneil Dariush from the United States. The bout will take place in the light heavyweight division. Right now, Oliveira is number one in the official UFC rankings of the division, and Darius is fourth.

Until 2017, Oliveira alternated between wins and losses, and no one would have guessed that this middleweight would ever become champion, much less in the crazy lightweight division. But something happened to the Brazilian. He became champion, winning eleven straight victories along the way, almost all outside the distance. In that run, he failed to finish only the madman Tony Ferguson. Still, all his other opponents were finished off without a chance, including the best, Chandler, by knockout and Poirier and Gaethje by receptions. Oliveira is a very tough jiu-jitsu fighter, but as you know, if sambo were easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu. Islam Makhachev brilliantly confirmed this hypothesis when he took the champion's belt from Charles in October.

Although he's not fighting perfectly, Darius repeats Oliveira's path. On his way to this fight, he has already won eight victories in a row but has not yet met his own "Makhachev." Dariush is a very versatile fighter, and all his skills are very high, with none of them at their highest. He always sticks to the game plan, and when necessary, he can put pressure. He may suppress, or he can even throw fists. All in all, a fighter with no apparent weaknesses, but there's nothing the best in the division.

Man, two guys who are absolute studs. Obviously, Beneil has been on a run here. Beneil Dariush (has) always been the guy on the outside of the bubble. Can he break into getting that title shot? From an actual prediction, that's a tough one. And both guys are very well-versed in grappling and wrestling exchanges. I think it turns into a knockdown, drag-out slugfest. I think Beneil Dariush might actually have the edge in that one, but it's honestly too close to call.

Michael Chandler

Yes, Chandler is correct, but there is a wrinkle in that... Charles Oliveira is past his peak. As Makhachev showed, he breaks under pressure. We suspect that Dariush's pressure will be no less than Islam's, and that's why his victory is more probable.