Only fighter to face Beneil Dariush twice inside the UFC cage, Diego Ferreira alerts Charles Oliveira ahead of their crucial lightweight tilt at UFC 289 on June 10.
Having lost a pair of decisions to Dariush in 2014 and 2021, Ferreira said on this week’s episode of MMA Fighting podcast Trocação Franca he has mixed feelings of who he would like to see win and advance for a chance to face Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound championship later this year in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m rooting for Charles do Bronx. He won the belt, super tough, but I hope he doesn’t take Dariush lightly because he’s super tough as well,” Ferreira said. “He’s tough, very slippery. He has sharp grappling. You saw his last fights with Tony Ferguson and [Mateusz Gamrot]. It’s going to be a super fought fight.
“Charles has a great chance. I hope he goes forward, imposes his game and brings his belt back, but Dariush is tough. I’ve fought him twice and couldn’t do much of my game, he didn’t allow me to do it. I root for our champion, but Dariush is also tough. I hope Dariush also goes somewhere. He’s been waiting for his title shot for a long time. I root for him as well. May the best man win.”
Meanwhile, Ferreira re-enters the octagon Saturday to battle veteran Michael Johnson at UFC Vegas 73 at the UFC APEX. Ferreira said “it won’t be an easy fight”, especially coming off three straight defeats against Dariush, Gregor Gillespie and Gamrot, but he expects to hand “The Menace” another submission defeat.
“I think I’ve dealt pretty well,” Ferreira said of being on a losing skid. “I tried to focus on other things I was leaving aside, like my jiu-jitsu, my true roots. That has motivated me to go back and compete and truly understand what MMA is, the right way to fight MMA. I was trying to do things I had never done before. I’ve taken two or three steps back and tried to capitalize on my moment, and that has motivated me to go back to my wrestling and jiu-jitsu in a different way — and also to my muay thai.”
“I wanna go back to the ranking, I want to get to the belt,” he continued. “I was so close after six victories in a row, I was so close to the belt, but sadly [losses] happened. I’ll stay focused, but only harder. This is my time, and I’m dealing with it with all my energy.”
