The lightweight bout between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush is easily the most fascinating and potentially most exciting pairing on the UFC 289 card Saturday. Oliveira lost his championship to Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in October and is fighting for the first time since. He's a world-class grappler with elite striking. Dariush is a world-class grappler whose striking has improved to the point that he's become a legitimate title contender.
This bout should tear the roof off the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. Oliveira's fights almost never go the distance. He's 33-9 with one no contest. In his 33 wins, he's finished 30 of them, with 21 coming by submission and nine by knockout. He's won only three by decision. Among his nine losses, he was knocked out four times, submitted four times and lost by decision once.
Oliveira's experience against elite opponents gives him the slightest edge, and it's why I like him to win. Dariush is a -145 favorite, so I'll take Oliveira at +125. It feels like a steal to get an ex-champion who recently had an 11-fight winning streak ended at plus money. Curtis is coming off an action-packed loss in a Fight of the Night battle with Kelvin Gastelum, a fight he could have won. Imavov is coming off a shellacking by Curtis' teammate, Sean Strickland.
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