Charles Oliveira made his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 289. Taking on Beneil Dariush in the co-main event, there were a lot of expectations from the former champ. Safe to say, Charles’ performance met those expectations and then some.
Previously, Oliveira missed out on the opportunity to reclaim his lightweight title. Taking on Islam Makhachev, the Brazilian seemed to hardly be any match for Khabib’s protege getting submitted in the second round. Thus, despite making quick work of some big names, Charles’ legitimacy as champion was questioned.
CHARLES OLIVEIRA’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!@CharlesDoBronxs stops Beneil Dariush in the first at #UFC289! pic.twitter.com/OWMWlddKWL
— UFC (@ufc) June 11, 2023
However, taking on Beneil Dariush, Charles seemingly put all the doubters to shame and delivered yet another dominant performance. Starting off quickly, Oliveira landed a huge head kick, getting the fans excited. Following that, the Brazilian, as he does in most fights, took matters to the ground.
After a few exchanges, Oliveira got on his feet and delivered a frightening combination. Landing yet another head kick and a huge left hand, the Brazilian seriously hurt a much-depleted Dariush. As such, with Dariush going down, it was only a matter of time before the referee stepped and waived the fight off.
Charles Oliveira speaks English in the post-fight interview
Coming into the fight, a lot of people had their doubts about Oliveira winning the fight. Taking on a resolute and determined Dariush, many felt that this would be an uphill battle for “Do Bronx”. Moreover, the Brazilian also had a worrying record when fighting in Canada, losing all four of his previous fights there.
However, Charles seemingly took it personally and broke the curse, dominantly no less. Interestingly, it was not the only surprising thing from Oliveira on the night. Following the fight, the Brazilian surprised many by speaking in English in his post-fight interview. “Let’s go brother, let’s go,” said an ecstatic Oliveira. Moreover, he continued, “Hello Vancouver, Hello Canada!” before dropping the infamous “The champ has a name, Charles Oliveira broder!”
Naturally, Charles speaking in English caught many off-guard including the translator and Daniel Cormier, who was taking the interview. Previously, Oliveira has been criticized by many, including Islam Makhachev, for not learning to speak in English. A fluent Portuguese speaker from the favelas of Sao Paulo, Oliveira has often expressed his thoughts and emotions through his expressions more than words.
With that said Charles is keen to get back into the Octagon with Islam Makhachev and settle their tie. According to Charles himself, he was at “10%” for his fight against Islam and “120%” this time around. As such, Oliveira then made an open request to UFC President Dana White for the next title shot. Having proven himself to be just as good as he was before, Oliveira will now be gearing up for his second showdown with Islam, hopefully later this year.
