Renato Moicano, who recently shared the octagon with Beneil Dariush, has offered a strong forecast for how a potential fight between Dariush and rising star Mauricio Ruffy would play out, describing it as entirely one-sided.
Mauricio Ruffy, known as `The Fighting Nerd`, has been vocal in calling out perennial contender Beneil Dariush ever since his impressive spinning wheel kick knockout win over King Green at UFC 313 in March.
Ruffy remains undefeated in the UFC with a 3-0 record, adding to his career total of 11 knockouts. The unranked prospect recently set his sights on challenging the new lightweight champion, Ilia Topuria, who defeated fellow Brazilian Charles Oliveira for the title in the main event of UFC 317, aiming to avenge Oliveira`s loss.
On the undercard of the same UFC 317 event, Dariush secured a unanimous decision victory over Renato Moicano, successfully keeping his own title aspirations alive.
Having gone the full distance in the cage against Dariush, Moicano shared his perspective on a hypothetical clash between Ruffy and Dariush.
Moicano Predicts First-Round Knockout for Ruffy Against Dariush
Moicano himself came close to stopping Dariush in the opening round of their recent encounter at UFC 317.
Ultimately, `styles make fights`, and the more experienced Dariush recovered, using his superior grappling to control and win rounds two and three.
Despite Ruffy lacking the high-level experience of a former top-3 contender like Dariush, Moicano is confident that Ruffy`s striking prowess would prove decisive.
Speaking on the `Show Me The Money` podcast, Moicano declared, “Let me tell you something. If Ruffy fought Dariush, he was asking for Dariush, he would knock [out] Dariush in the first round.”
Regarding Dariush, who boasts a solid 9-2 record in his last 11 bouts, Moicano added, “100%. There is no doubt he would get beat by Ruffy.”
Moicano extended his bold predictions, suggesting that the unranked Ruffy could also knock out Michael Chandler in a potential matchup.
“Same thing with Chandler,” Moicano stated. “Ruffy against Chandler, he can knock Chandler out.”
Moicano, currently on a two-fight losing streak, has previously expressed interest in fighting Chandler, noting that the former Bellator champion is the oldest ranked fighter in the lightweight division at 38 years old.
Beneil Dariush Focused on a Final Push Towards UFC Gold
Dariush, aged 36, has not given up on his long-held goal of becoming the UFC lightweight champion.
Once riding an impressive eight-fight winning streak with victories over notable fighters like Mateusz Gamrot and Tony Ferguson, which saw him ranked as high as #3, Dariush believes he was unfairly passed over for a title shot in 2023.
Now ranked at #9, the veteran fighter with 24 UFC bouts under his belt is determined to fight only opponents ranked above him as he makes what he sees as his final run at the title.
Speaking to The Schmo, Dariush commented, “I’m thinking this is my last push to the title shot.”
He added, “Who knows? I never try to decide when I’m gonna retire. I leave that in the hands of the Lord.”
“But, I’m 36 years old. I wanna push towards that title,” Dariush continued.
“I don’t wanna fight people behind me. I’ve always given guys opportunities for people behind me, like [Mateusz] Gamrot and Arman [Tsarukyan]. Now, I want opportunities to fight ahead of me.”
Gareth Pendleton