UFC 311: Renato Moicano respects Beneil Dariush, but vows 'to beat the sh*t out of the old man'

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Although Renato Moicano likes and respects his UFC 311 opponent Beneil Dariush, he plans on beating him up badly.

The UFC lightweight contender made it clear that he plans on stopping Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6 UFC) this Saturday when the two meet on the main card of the UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2025. Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who’s older than Dariush by a few days, wants to teach the “old man” a lesson.

“Saturday night, I will beat the sh*t out of Beneil Dariush,” Moicano told reporters at the UFC 311 media day. “It is what it is. I don’t know why people are calling him old because if they call him old, they’re calling me old, because I’m older than him. So don’t call him old. That being said, Saturday I’m going to beat the sh*t out of the old man. Don’t be mad at me. I’m just trying to be funny.”

All jokes aside, Moicano is determined to get his hand raised at UFC 311. He’s aware of the dangers that Dariush poses, but he’s on a mission to extend his winning streak to six in a row and get himself a marquee fight in the division.

“I like him very much, I respect him very much,” Moicano said. “He’s dangerous and has more knockout power than me. He has more knockouts than me. He’s very f*cking awkward. If you remember his fight against Drakkar Klose, he was almost getting knocked out, and then he swung his arms and he got the guy. He’s got good jiujitsu. He’s in a tough position with two losses, and I’m going to make sure he ends in a worst position now because I will beat, doesn’t matter if he’s good or bad. I can’t afford to lose.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.