Charles Oliveira challenges Beneil Dariush to test his grappling against him at UFC 289

By Cole Shelton - June 9, 2023

Charles Oliveira wants Beneil Dariush to back his talk up and go to the ground with him.

Charles Oliveira

Ahead of UFC 289, both Oliveira and Dariush are confident in their skills and both believe they will be able to get a stoppage win on Saturday night. Yet, ahead of the fight, Dariush spoke to BJPENN.com and said he had no problem taking the fight to the ground if needed as he isn’t scared of Oliveira’s grappling.

“Ideally he will want to be on top, he will want to take me down and be on top,” Dariush said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I think the ideal situation for Charles (is to be on top). Stand up and get me to the ground, that will be his ideal situation… I have no problem taking it to the ground. If the fight ends up on the ground, great, if the fight stays standing, great. It’s going to be my way either way… That is how I see it playing out, kill or be killed. Either I end up killing Charles in this fight or he kills me, there is no other way around me.”

RELATED: Pro fighters make their picks for Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush at UFC 289.

Following Beneil Dariush’s comments about not being scared to take it to the ground, Charles Oliveira told the fourth-ranked lightweight to try and go to the ground to him and see what happens.

“You gotta be confident when you come into a fight like this. All the respect in the world for him. The one thing I’ve said many times: I’m an MMA fighter. I’m a complete fighter. I’m not a jiu-jitsu fighter,” Oliveira said at UFC 289 media day. “Well, if he feels so confident about his jiu-jitsu, he has three rounds to try to bring it down to the ground and see what’s going on, and we’ll see what happens.”

Oliveira is known for his grappling ability as he has the UFC record for most wins by submission with 16, five ahead of Demian Maia. Yet, Dariush is confident he will be the better grappler which adds to the anticipation of the scrap.