Renato Moicano believes he has “to kill” Beneil Dariush at UFC 317 to remain in title picture

Renato Moicano believes the pressure is on him to not just beat Beneil Dariush but finish him at UFC 317.

Moicano was supposed to face Dariush back in January. But, on weigh-in day, after Arman Tsarukyan pulled out, Moicano stepped up on a day’s notice to face Islam Makhachev for the belt. The Brazilian ended up losing by first-round submission and was rebooked to face Dariush at UFC 317 on Saturday.

Heading into the fight, Moicano is confident he will be able to finish Dariush, but he says there is pressure for him to do that.

“The difference is somebody told me he’s only 15 days older than me, so I have to kill him now,” Moicano said at UFC 317 media day. “Because that means I was calling myself old the whole training camp. Saturday night, than can only be one old man standing. This is going to be me.”

Moicano enters the bout as a slight -115 favorite, so the oddsmakers do lean towards him getting his hand raised. But, Moicano believes he can make the fight more definitive by finishing Dariush at UFC 317.

Renato Moicano is hopeful of getting another title shot

Although Renato Moicano just lost in a title fight, he believes he can get another one soon.

If Moicano does finish Dariush at UFC 317 as he suspects, he believes he would remain in the title picture and be close to another title shot.

“I want to fight for the belt someday again with better preparation. But that’s not up to me. I have to beat Beneil Dariush, I have to give a good speech to everybody. I have to bring more fans to my side. This is going to happen,” Moicano added. “I have to become more popular to fight for the belt. A lot of people think is a sport, but UFC is entertainment. They want to sell tickets. They want to sell merchandise. That’s the truth. That’s why I’m trying my best to be sellable… I still want to be on top.”

Moicano is currently ranked 11th at lightweight, so he would likely need a few more wins to get another crack at UFC gold.