UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush will finally get to fight the man he was supposed to fight in January in Renato Moicano on Saturday night at UFC 317.
Dariush (22-6-1) was supposed to fight Moicano at UFC 311. When Arman Tsarukyan fell out of the fight the UFC reached out to Moicano and he fought Islam Makhachev in the main event leaving Dariush on his own.
Now with their fight finally intact, hopefully, for UFC 317 Dariush reflected on the long camp.
“Yeah since it’s the same guy and I’m prepping for him and I didn’t get to fight. I would say this feels like a longer camp, but that’s ok,” Dariush told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“You make more adjustments, you study more tape, and you just try to get better as an athlete.”
Moicano last 4 minutes and 5 seconds with Makhachev before tapping to a d’arce choke in the main event. With very little tape to study how much more could Dariush plan for the fight?
Apparently, we’d all be surprised.
“You’d be surprised. There was quite a bit in there. There’s quite a lot in the beginning of the fight in the way they feint and the things they do. It was actually really good for me,” he said.
With similar ground styles this fight has the potential to turn into a stand up brawl. Dariush doesn’t see it that way.
“I think I’m better than him everywhere. Pretty sure wherever the grappling fight goes I’ll be fine,” he said.
Watch the entire media day scrum with Beneil Dariush above. He faces Renato Moicano at UFC 317 on Saturday night.
