Beneil Dariush Announces Charles Oliveira is Out of UFC on ESPN 16 Lightweight Bout

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It appears that an intriguing lightweight clash targeted for Oct. 3 will not proceed as planned.

Beneil Dariush announced via Instagram on Monday that Charles Oliveira has withdrawn from their proposed bout at UFC on ESPN 16. A reason for the Brazilian’s exit is currently unclear. UFC officials have not made a formal announcement regarding the fight.

“After my fight with Scott Holtzman, the UFC offered me a fight with Charles Oliveira on Oct 3rd,” Dariush wrote. “I accepted and so did Charles. I did not announce it because I was waiting on the UFC to announce it and I would follow. I been informed Charles is out of the fight. I am not sure on the details but I hope all is well with Charles.

“I am currently working with the UFC to figure out our next step. I will keep you all posted on the details. Finally, even though the fight did not come to fruition I want to thank the UFC, Sean Shelby, and my brother Ali Abdelaziz for setting this up.”

Dariush is riding the momentum of a five-bout winning streak in the Octagon that includes finishes of Drew Dober, Frank Camacho, Drakkar Close and Holtzman.

Oliveira, the UFC’s all-time submission leader, has won seven straight within the Las Vegas-based promotion and is coming off a third-round tapout of Kevin Lee in the UFC Fight Night 170 headliner on March 14.

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A post shared by Beneil Dariush (@beneildariush) on Sep 7, 2020 at 1:56pm PDT