UFC lightweight contender Beneil Dariush isn’t happy with Charles Oliveira’s callout of Conor McGregor.
Dariush has been on the shelf since a win over Tony Ferguson last May. He was then scheduled to face Islam Makhachev earlier this year. However, the fight fell through after Dariush pulled out due to injury.
During his time on the sidelines, the UFC lightweight division has been turned upside down. Charles Oliveira was stripped of his 155-pound crown due to missing weight for his fight against Justin Gaethje. He would go on to win their fight at UFC 275, leaving the title vacant.
Despite not being currently champion, Oliveira has been granted the opportunity to fight for the title next. If the Brazilian has his way, he will face Conor McGregor in his return. The two men have traded words on social media regarding a possible fight.
That talk of a Charles Oliveira vs. Conor McGregor title fight doesn’t sit well with Beneil Dariush. The lightweight contender discussed his frustration with the Brazilian on The Writer vs. The Fighter podcast.
“He’s talking about wanting to fight Conor, and he talks about how these guys never gave him a shot when he was outside the top five, blah, blah, blah. We were supposed to fight October of 2020. I have a fight contract, I can post a picture of it. I was supposed to fight Charles, and he pulled out of the fight, and then a couple months later, instead of fighting me, he fought Tony Ferguson. He said something about family issues and I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, he didn’t fight me, I can’t believe it.’ Family comes first, I understand that. But the same thing people did to him, he’s doing to me.” (h/t MMAFighting)
Beneil Dariush continued, “I understand the media has their thing, the UFC has their part, but for him to be chasing a unicorn, it’s super frustrating. There’s two clear contenders in front of you, and you’re trying to chase a unicorn. No one knows when Conor is going to fight again. The guy might not even fight this year. Make it make sense. It just doesn’t make sense.”
What do you think about Beneil Dariush’s comments about Charles Oliveira?