Charles Oliveira recently turned around his luck in Canada by putting on an amazing display and defeating Beneil Dariush at UFC 289. It was an utterly flawless performance that helped catapult the former champion back into title-contention immediately. He obviously wanted to win just like any other fighter does when they step in the cage, but a good performance there would see him potentially get a rematch against Islam Makhachev. While Oliveira had plenty of reason to find the victory, the location of the fight also proved to be another factor in his drive to succeed.
Charles Oliveira opened up about the experience of fighting against Beneil Dariush in Canada in a recent appearance on Trocação Franca:
“To have a standing ovation by (almost) 20,000 people in Vancouver, Canada, felt like I was fighting in my backyard. I’ll never forget that in my life. I cried walking out, I cried after the fight, so that will never leave my head.
According to Oliveira, the fun didn’t stop there. Even long after he finished his fight against Dariush, he was still swarmed by Canadian fans:
“The event was over, it was late at night, and you go back to the hotel and there’s thousands of people screaming your name. I’ll never forget that. It felt like they would flip my car over with so many people over it. If you weren’t there to feel it, you won’t understand. I’ve only seen that in movies.”
This will no doubt come as a surprise to anyone who knows Charles Oliveira, as he originally didn’t want to fight in Canada at all. This was because fighters are often a superstitious bunch and each of the four previous fights he had in the country ended in a loss. His head coach and manager Diego Lima explained that this came up early in their relationship:
“I remember when I took over Oliveira [as a manager] he told me jokingly, but at the same time being very serious, ‘Let’s only make a deal, I don’t fight in Canada.’ We laughed and said, ‘Ok, you’ll never fight in Canada.’”
Still, after Oliveira was forced to withdraw from the original date against Dariush due to an injury, an opportunity presented itself. Both men wanted to compete against one another and neither one of them wanted to spend long on the sidelines, so UFC matchmakers had an idea:
“Sean Shelby said he would keep Dariush [as his opponent], but it had to be in Canada. I called Charles and said, ‘It’s going to be on the 10th, but in Canada.’ He said, ‘You know what, let’s go. I’m ready. It’s good, another obstacle for me to go through and leave behind.’”
