HUGE ANNOUNCEMENTS JUST DROPPED! 🚨@DanaWhite
just confirmed SIX big fights going down this summer and more 👀
pic.twitter.com/2trJujb3kB— UFC (@ufc)
April 21, 2023
A matchup between top Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight
contenders has found itself locked in for June.
In May, former champ Charles
Oliveira (33-9, 1 NC) was to battle Beneil
Dariush (22-4-1) for a potential crack at the lightweight
throne. The bout was set to take place at UFC 288, but a
minor injury suffered by the Brazilian forced the fight back.
According to the UFC on
Thursday night, it will now take place in the co-headlining spot on
UFC
289 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Additionally, the
UFC announced earlier on Thursday via press release a light
heavyweight matchup between Khalil
Rountree (11-5, 1 NC) and ex-heavyweight Chris
Daukaus (12-6), one that may or may not reach the main card
when the promotion reshuffles its bout order.
News of this fight being pushed back to June 10 was first broken by
The
Schmo on Sunday. Oliveira will be getting back to action for
the first time since losing his gold belt to Islam
Makhachev at UFC 280. That defeat, a second-round submission,
marked the stunning end to a 11-fight win streak over several of
the best the division has to offer, one that included 10 finishes
along the way. With a stellar stoppage rate of 91% as a pro,
Oliveira proudly holds the record for the most wins inside the
distance in the Octagon (19) along with the most submissions (16).
He and Donald
Cerrone are tied for the company’s all-time record for
post-fight bonuses, with 18 apiece.
Since succumbing to a 42-second knockout at the hands of Alexander
Hernandez in 2018, Dariush has not tasted defeat. This includes
eight straight victories, beating the likes of Drew Dober,
Tony
Ferguson and most recently, Mateusz
Gamrot, as he worked his way up the 155-pound ladder. While
fans called for Dariush to instead be yanked from this pairing and
slotted into a title fight against Makhachev, the promotion elected
to reschedule this pairing a month later. Of note, Dariush is one
of 10 combatants to grace the UFC cage to ever land a spinning back
fist knockout.
UFC 289 will go down at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada, on June 10. The fight card will be headlined by a
women’s bantamweight championship rubber match between Amanda
Nunes and Julianna
Pena. Other fights expected on the main card include Chris
Curtis vs. Nassourdine
Imavov at middleweight, a reported pairing of Stephen
Thompson vs. Michel
Pereira in the 170-pound division, and a featherweight clash
when Dan
Ige faces Nate
Landwehr.