Beneil Darish got back to winning ways tonight at UFC 317 with a unanimous decision victory over Renato Moicano.
Round One
Early high kick attempt from Dariush is blocked. Now a body kick from Dariush, but Moicano had backed off so it wasn’t a clean connection.
Low kick for Dariush. He misses on another attempt. Body kick from Moicano. inside leg kick for Moicano and now one from Dariush.
Another low kick for Dariush. Moicano presses forward and lands a punch. Solid low kick for Dariush. He goes for a head kick but doesn’t connect.
Moicano with a punch and Dariush fires back with hooks. Big leg kick from Dariush knocks Moicano off his feet for a moment.
Moicano with a right hand and Dariush tries to counter with a hook. Moicano clinches up against the cage, but they soon separate.
Moicano misses on a head kick attempt. Body kick for Dariush. Now a low kick on the inside. Inside leg kick for Moicano. Body kick from Dariush.
Body punch for Dariush. Now a one-two. Moicano firing back. Body kick for Dariush. Now one from Moicano. Straight right from Moicano drops Dariush!
Now there’s a big scramble on the mat as Dariush tries to survive under pressure. They go back to the feet and Moicano is looking for more strikes. Dariush swings back to fend him off for now as the round comes to a close.
Round Two
Dariush with a big left hook. Now he’s able to land a takedown in the center of the Octagon. Moicano scrambles and gets back to his feet momentarily, but Dariush is still on him and he’s back down to one knee now.
Moicano trying to threaten Dariush’s base now, but Dariush adjusts and now he’s hopping on to Moicano’s back. Not for long though and so he goes back to working for the takedown. Moicano down to one knee as Dariush attempts to break his base.
Moicano turns around to face him against the cage and Dariush lands a knee to the body. Good single-leg from Dariush puts Moicano on his back.
Dariush working from half-guard now. A few body punches from him and then elbows to the head. Shoulder pressure now as tries to work for an arm triangle, but then gives up on that to land some ground-and-pound in the final seconds of the round.
Round Three
Dariush with a high kick attempt that’s blocked. Dariush lands a superman punch. Now he’s into a takwdown attempt and tries to complete it, but then Moicano is able to turn into him and is looking to get on top. Dariush able to prevent that and gets back up.
Dariush with a body kick. Moicano clinches up but they soon separate. Left hand from Dariush. Now a knee. Low kicks for him.
Another calf kick for Dariush. A couple lands to the inside of the calf and Moicano catches the second of those, but can’t do anything with it.
Left hands for Dariush. Dariush works for a double-leg. Moicano goes to his knees and Dariush hops on his back as he stands. Dariush comes back off and drags Moicano down to the mat.
There’s a scramble and Moicano is able to stand, but eats a knee for his troubles. They clinch up and Dariush marches him over to the cage. Moicano breaks free.
Low kick for Dariush. Jab from him. Both fighters tiring now, but Moicano seems to have less to give offensively now, while Dariush is fighting through it.
Jab from Moicano. He tries for a takedown, but Dariush stuffs it. Back to striking range as the round comes to a close.
Decision
Given that he was coming off two KO losses, Dariush did well to bounce back from being dropped by Moicano in the opening round here, and showed off a mix of striking, wrestling and grappling in the rounds that folllowed to emerge with a unanimous decision victory (29-28 x3).
