Beneil Dariush’s last UFC opponent says a fight with Mauricio Ruffy would be one-way traffic.
The Fighting Nerds’ star Ruffy has been calling out perennial contender Beneil Dariush ever since Ruffy knocked out King Green with a spinning wheel kick at UFC 313 in March.
Ruffy is undefeated at 3-0 in the UFC with 11 career KOs. The unranked prospect recently made it his mission to avenge fallen Brazilian Charles Oliveira in a title fight against new champion Ilia Topuria, who won the lightweight title in the main event of UFC 317.
On the undercard, Dariush kept his title dreams alive by beating Renato Moicano by unanimous decision.
After going the distance with Dariush, Moicano has shared how he thinks a potential fight between Ruffy and Dariush goes down.
Renato Moicano picks Mauricio Ruffy to KO Beneil Dariush in the first round
Moicano nearly knocked out Dariush in the opening round of their fight at UFC 317.
Styles make fights and ultimately, the experienced Dariush recovered and won rounds 2 and 3 with his grappling advantage.
While Ruffy might not have the credentials of the former top-3 contender, Moicano believes Ruffy would finish Dariush in the striking department.
“Let me tell you something. If Ruffy fought Dariush, he was asking for Dariush, he would knock [out] Dariush in the first round,” Moicano said on Show Me The Money.
“100%. There is no doubt he would get beat by Ruffy,” Moicano said of Dariush, who is 9-2 in his last 11 fights.
Moicano also predicted the unranked Ruffy to KO Michael Chandler in a potential fight.
“Same thing with Chandler. Ruffy against Chandler, he can knock Chandler out,” Moicano added.
Coming off back-to-back losses, Moicano has expressed interest in fighting Chandler as the former Bellator champion is the oldest ranked fighter in the division at 38 years old.
Beneil Dariush planning one final UFC title run
Dariush, 36, hasn’t given up hope of winning the UFC lightweight title.
Once on an eight-fight winning streak with wins over Mateusz Gamrot and Tony Ferguson, the #3-ranked Dariush says he wasn’t given a title shot in 2023 because he wasn’t ranked high enough.
Now ranked at #9, Dariush refuses to fight anyone below him in the rankings as the 24-fight UFC veteran sets out for his first title opportunity.
“I’m thinking this is my last push to the title shot,” Dariush told The Schmo.
“Who knows? I never try to decide when 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.”