Benil Darius has nothing but praise for Charles Oliveira.
He is set to face Dariush Oliveira in the co-main event of UFC 289 in a pivotal fight for both men. The winner gets to take the next title shot, so the stakes are high for this game. Although Dariush is confident he will raise his hand, he knows it will not be easy because he believes Oliveira is the second best lightweight of all time.
“I’m confident in my skill set, I’m confident in what God has given me. I realize how good Charles is, it’s not something I see in him but a flaw. I just believe in myself and what God has given me,” Dariush He said at the UFC 289 press conference. “I’ve said this before, in my opinion, Charles (is) the second best lightweight of all time, right behind Khabib. But, it doesn’t matter to me, I want to fight the best guys in the world.”
RELATED: Neil Dariusch says he has no problem with his transfer to Earth with Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira is a former UFC Lightweight Champion but has only defended his belt once. However, he has defeated many notable fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler so he is up there as one of the all-time best lightweights but Dariush ranks him #2 ahead of the likes of BJ Penn or Frankie Edgar among others.
If Darius beats Oliveira, it will be a great fight for his legacy and he also expects to not only defeat the Brazilian but also eliminate him.
“It didn’t really happen. With a guy like Charles, you don’t really need five rounds,” Dariush said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “It’s either a kill or be killed within three rounds, I don’t think we need five rounds, but I don’t I mind five rounds. With me and Charles, we don’t hide anything, we’ll just go out there and do our thing… That’s how I see it happen, kill or be killed. Either I end up killing Charles in this fight or he kills me, there’s no other way around for me.”