Ranked lightweights clashed at UFC 317 on Saturday night as #9 Beneil Dariush and #11 Renato Moicano looked to get back into the title picture in Las Vegas.
The two were set to fight at UFC 311, but Moicano was called up to fight UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the main event after Arman Tsarukyan fell out of the fight. Dariush did not get to fight that night with no replacement available.
Dariush (22-6-1) has been out of action since Dec 2023 where he lost to Tsarukyan by TKO. Coming into UFC 317 he was on a two-fight losing skid with losses to Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira.
Moicano (20-6-1) fought for the first time since losing his first UFC title fight against Makhachev at UFC 311. “Money” Moicano looked to make the most out of the rebooked fight with Dariush on Saturday.
Round 1 Dariush came out firing kicks like that’s all he wanted to do. He punished the body of Moicano who took his time even firing off any offense. Near the end of the round Moicano dropped Dariush with a big right hand and tried to find a finish. Dairush was able to survive and get back to his feet.
Round 2 Dariush lands on Moicano, left hook rocks Moicano, who then shoots and endsup on his back. Dariush backpack. Shakes him off, but Dariush not letting go of the back. Dariush single leg scores. Dariush lands shots to body, elbows up top. Moicano trying to survive. Dariush dominated the round landing a big left hook that rocked Moicano. Moicano shot for a takedown, but ended up on his back. Dariush turned into a backpack once Moicano stood up, and didn’t want to let the position go. He punished Moicano to the body and landed elbows up top. After scoring another takedown Moicano accepted the position and just fought to survive to the third.
Round 3 Dariush kicked the round off with a superman punch then a takedown. The rest of the round was all Dariush as he worked kicks and takedowns. Plenty of offense from Dariush, nearly none from Moicano who was gassed out and seemed to accept the fact that he was going to lose this fight.
Official Result: Beneil Dariush def. Renato Moicano via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
