More and more fighters keep showing their support for Charles Oliveria because he got stripped a UFC 274. Well, some fighters- Michael Chandler stands with the UFC, but the current No. 6 ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush feels bad for the former lightweight champion.
Dariush believes Oliveira
In a recent interview with ESPN, Dariush explained his thoughts on the situation.
“So it’s not a good situation for neither UFC nor Charles. I know, a lot of people are saying that Charles got screwed. I feel bad for Charles. It wasn’t a good thing for Charles. Because I’m sure Charles did his thing. He wasn’t going to miss half a pound. He’s not trying to give up his purse. So I’m sure he was on weight like he said he was, I believe him,” Dariush said. “And as far as people getting on that scale, sitting on that scale, and changing the kilos – totally true, all the time people do it. I’ve seen it. I’ve been doing my practice and I’ve seen people sitting on our scales and things like that. I see both sides.”
“And you know, a lot of people say Charles shouldn’t be stripped. Here’s the problem, if you don’t strip Charles, you can’t give Justin Gathje the belt if Gaethje won. That was the issue. The reason why they took the belt from Charles was that if we’re having a title fight, and the belt belongs to Charles, he didn’t make 155 -so, they’re not fighting for the 155 belt. That’s why they did it the way they did it. I understand why UFC did what they did. I understand why Charles feels the way he does. Like it’s just a poop situation.”
Dariush has been calling for a fight with Oliveria for a minute now. They were scheduled to fight in 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Aldana on UFC Fight Island; however, the Brazilain pulled out of the fight. So, it’s safe to say the fight with Oliveira is still fresh in his mind. If Dariush gets through another top-five fighter, the fight could finally occur.
Future
He wants Oliveira but realizes that fight isn’t next, so he has his eyes set on Michael Chandler.
“I’m not getting to Charles fight, I don’t think so. I mean, I should if we’re talking about merit, but whatever. I’m not getting the Charles fight. So hopefully I get Chandler or Dustin [Poirier]. And then from there, I move on to fight for the title. By that time, I beat up whoever’s there. That’s, where I’m at. But yeah, it’s just who’s gonna be my first meal is the way I look at it,” Dariush said.
