Charles Oliveira owns the record books. And he might own a No. 1 contender spot as well.
“Do Bronx” added another unbelievable finish to his resume with a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush (22-5-1) at UFC 289 on Saturday, extending his record for the most finishes in UFC history with stoppage No. 20.
Afterwards, the former UFC lightweight champion announced that he wanted a chance to take the belt from Islam Makhachev. Oliveira lost in a vacant title bout to Makhachev at UFC 280 this past October.
“The champion has a name, it’s Charles Oliveira,” Oliveira said in his post-fight interview.
Oliveira has now won 12 of his past 13 fights.
From the start, Oliveira made it clear he wasn’t looking to go the distance as he hurt Dariush with a head kick that prompted Dariush to close the distance and wrestle. Oliveira pulled guard and allowed Dariush to work from top position, which led to Dariush attacking with ground-and-pound before having to defend against an Oliveira leg lock.
The fight returned to the feet and not long after Oliveira clipped Dariush with another head kick that just sneaked around Dariush’s blocking arm. The strike did enough damage to wobble Dariush, so Oliveira pressed the advantage and landed a right hand that rocked Dariush. Oliveira pounced with ground strikes to force the stoppage, despite referee Jason Herzog giving Dariush every chance to recover.
In the UFC, Oliveira has now recorded four wins by knockout and 16 by submission.
The loss is devastating for Dariush’s title chances as he sees an eight-fight win streak stopped. Dariush has long been considered worthy of a championship opportunity and it remains to be seen whether or not this ends up removing him from the equation for good.
