Under the bright lights of Las Vegas at UFC 317, Renato Moicano and Beneil Dariush are set to collide in a pivotal matchup. The fight was initially scheduled to take place at UFC 311 but was cancelled at the last minute because of Arman Tsarukyan’s injury. Moicano, who stepped up on short notice to challenge Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, saw his impressive four-fight win streak come to an end. But it seems Moicano has already devised a plan on how to end the fight against his upcoming opponent. A head kick, which is inspired by his countryman and former champion Charles Oliveira.
At UFC 289 on June 10, 2023, Oliveira delivered a commanding performance. He defeated Dariush with a first-round TKO at 4:10. From the outset, Oliveira showcased his striking prowess, landing a significant head kick that visibly staggered Dariush. Seizing the moment, Oliveira unleashed a flurry of punches, compelling the referee to halt the contest. Well, “Money Moicano” has taken a leaf out of the fight and is planning to do the same. Moicano shared the video on his UFC 317 vlogs, which was later shared by Home Of Fight on their Instagram account.
During the video, Moicano said, ” Look at Beneil Dariush here. Let me warn you right now. This is the guy I’m going to fight. Look what’s going to happen to him. Get the camera ready, my brother. Charles already showed the way, my brother. Head kick, he’s a southpaw, it’s going to land perfectly. Film this editor.” Well, it will be interesting to see whether the Brazilian fighter can pull off what he has claimed. Dariush and Moicano have been going against each other for some time now. After Moicano failed to get past the challenge of Makhachev, ‘Benny’ didn’t quite mince his words. While speaking to MMA Junkie the 36-year-old shared his honest opinion on the performance.
He said, “I would’ve won! It would’ve been a finish for sure! It wasn’t gonna go five rounds. The way Makhaachev and I fight is not going five rounds. So, here’s what I’ll say neither of us has ever lost a decision. He doesn’t lose decisions, I don’t lose decisions, so I think I wasn’t gonna lose that fight.” Now that’s a staggering level of confidence from Dariush—borderline otherworldly. He is carrying that confidence walking into his UFC 317 fight as well. ‘Benny’ has now revealed that he doesn’t quite need much preparation, as he has been doing that for quite some time now.
Beneil Dariush feels his fight with Renato Moicano has slowly become ‘stale’
To put things into perspective, Beneil Dariush might have been preparing for Renato Moicano as far back as August of last year. While he didn’t get to compete in Inglewood as originally planned, the UFC still paid him his full purse for UFC 311. Dariush took it all in stride, acknowledging that the promotion had to make a quick decision to salvage the event. Well, preparing for a fight against the same opponent does get a bit boring after quite some time. This is exactly what has happened with ‘Benny’. During one of his interviews, he said, “You get kind of stale on it. I’ve got to freshen up on all the homework I was doing. … I don’t really look at it as unfinished business,”.
However, the 36-year-old is confident that he still has the chance of getting a shot at the title. The lightweight division has changed completely after the departure of the Dagestani fighter. According to Dariush, he might just be two or three fights away from getting a title shot. He said, “I could be maybe two fights away. If I have a good performance now, I beat a top-five guy, then I beat a top-five guy, I’m in title contention. You never know. Sometimes, one fight might be enough. It might take three. It will probably take two more fights to be honest with you.”
With a title run still in sight, Beneil Dariush will step into the spotlight determined to derail Renato Moicano. But the question remains—can he overcome the crafty Brazilian, or is another setback looming on the horizon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Renato Moicano Plans to Take a Page Out of Charles Oliveira’s Playbook as Beneil Dariush Put on Notice appeared first on EssentiallySports.