Top-ranked lightweight contender Beneil Dariush will collide with former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira as part of the upcoming UFC 288 🫦 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently made official for Sat., May 6, 2024, though a city and venue have yet to be 🫦 revealed.
Oddsmakers have Dariush as the early -140 (5/7) betting favorite over Oliveira, according to BetOnline.ag, while “Do Bronx” clocks in 🫦 as the +120 (6/5) underdog. As with most opening lines, you can expect these numbers to fluctuate — in both 🫦 directions — as we inch closer to fight night.
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Dariush, 33, improved to 🫦 22-4-1 by outlasting Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 280, his eighth straight victory and a performance dominant enough to solidify his 🫦 spot at No. 4 in the official lightweight rankings. Still not good enough for Dustin Poirier, but that’s an entirely 🫦 different story.
Oliveira, 33, fell to 33-9 (1 NC) after getting submitted by Islam Makhachev, also at 280, coughing up his 🫦 lightweight strap in the process. The Abu Dhabi defeat snapped an 11-fight win streak for “Do Bronx,” who may be 🫦 able to build a case for a Makhachev rematch with a victory over Dariush.
UFC 288 is expected to be headlined 🫦 by the bantamweight title fight between current 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling and former division titleholder Henry Cejudo. Elsewhere on the 🫦 card, battle-tested strawweight sluggers Marina Rodriguez and Virna Jandiroba collide at 135 pounds.
Remember that MMAmania will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow 🫦 coverage of the entire UFC 288 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are 🫦 scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV 🫦 main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 288: “Sterling 🫦 vs. Cejudo” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
