It appears a highly anticipated UFC lightweight fight set for next month is on hold.
Beneil Dariush (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC), one of the hottest fighters in the division, on Monday posted on Instagram that Charles Oliveira (29-8 MMA, 17-8 UFC) is out of their Oct. 3 fight. UFC officials have not made a formal announcement of the change.
“After my fight with Scott Holtzman, the UFC offered me a fight with Charles Oliveira on Oct 3rd,” Dariush posted. “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 has won five straight and has finishes in his past four. He’s coming off a highlight-reel spinning backfist knockout of Scott Holtzman at UFC on ESPN+ 32 that earned him MMA Junkie’s “Knockout of the Month” for August, but couldn’t take home his fourths traight performance bonus because he missed weight.
Oliveira owns a seven-fight winning streak, all of which have been by stoppage. The Brazilian most recently locked up a submission win over Kevin Lee in March.
The latest lineup for the UFC’s Oct. 3 event includes:
