After losing his belt in October last year, Charles Oliveira is all set to make his much-awaited return to the Octagon. On 11 June, the former lightweight champion will go toe to toe against Beneil Dariush in a bout that many believe is a title eliminator. But just a week before his return, Dan Hardy has issued some serious concerns for the former lightweight champion.

Recently, in his appearance on Submission radio, the former UFC title challenger expressed his thoughts on Oliveira’s return. If the Englishman is to be believed, the lightweight’s recovery might not be at its best going into his upcoming bout. But his worries aren’t due to ‘Do Bronx’s last loss to Islam Makhachev. In ‘The Outlaw’s opinion, the punishment that the Brazilian has taken during his last few fights might prove to be detrimental to him. Additionally, his struggle with weight cuts and background in shoot wrestling doesn’t help either. For context, Charles Oliveira went toe-to-toe against Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler before losing his belt. He triumphed on all these occasions but not before taking some serious punishment. He also has a background in shoot wrestling, which involves eating some big shots.

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But despite this, the former Cage Warrior welterweight champion thinks Charles Oliveira is capable of coming over all the challenges. He further added that if ‘Do Bronx’ has adapted and given his body a proper rest, he might be able to make a good impact. However, in case he couldn’t, the Brazilian’s best days might be past him. In Hardy’s own words:

“I think he’s got, you know, he’s got a lot of skills and problems to bring to the table. But if he’s not able to adapt, then, you know, he will get left behind. And I don’t know whether we’ve already seen the best of him, and that might be, uh, might be the last of it.”

Charles Oliveira’s rival issues a threat to UFC

The clash between Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 is widely being touted as a title eliminator bout. Even though nothing is official yet, Dariush seems confident in this matter. In one of his recent interviews with MMA Fighting, the American claimed that he has UFC’s ‘words’ for this. He further added that in case the promotion fails to keep their word, he might riot. Dariush Said:

“This time when I was talking to them, they said if I beat Charles Oliveira, I am the No. 1 contender. It’s not often they give me their word. This time, they did. I’m going to take them at their word if it’s not so. I’m going to take Justin Gaethje’s advice and possibly riot.”

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While Olivera is yet to receive a rematch after losing his title, Dariush is currently on an 8-fight win streak. Given such a background, the demand for a title fight for the winner doesn’t seem unfair.

But what do you think about the matter? Who should get the next shot at lightweight? Let us know in the comments.