Beneil Dariush overcame an early scare to get back into the win column after a lengthy absence.

On the main card of UFC 317 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Dariush (23-6-1 MMA, 17-6-1 UFC) returned to the cage for the first time since December 2023 to face Renato Moicano. Although Moicano (20-7-1 MMA, 12-7 UFC) succeeded in the opening round, the judges’ scorecards were unanimous (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in favor of Dariush after 15 minutes of action.

Dariush set the tone, keeping Moicano at a distance while causing damage with several hard low kicks. Moicano remained patient while applying forward pressure and hunting for openings. Late in Round 1, Moicano connected with a beautiful straight right hand that dropped Dariush. Moicano swarmed for the finish, but Dariush recovered well enough to survive the round.

MONEY MOICANO DROPPED BENEIL DARIUSH 🤑#UFC317pic.twitter.com/c4sXLeI73p

— UFC (@ufc) June 29, 2025

Early in Round 2, Dariush clipped Moicano with a clean punch, prompting a wrestling scramble. Dariush ended up controlling the positions along the fence, resulting in a takedown. While racking up top control time, Dariush worked for a submission and ended the frame with ground and pound.

With the fight seemingly up for grabs, Dariush came out quickly looking to get the fight back to the ground. Moicano was able to reverse and scramble back to his feet, but Dariush continued to have success striking. Keeping Moicano busy, Dariush continued to threaten takedowns to stay in control until the final horn.

With the win, Dariush returns to the win column following back-to-back losses to former champ Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan in 2023. Moicano now finds himself on a two-fight skid, as he entered an a super short notice title opportunity against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 317 results

• Beneil Dariush def. Renato Moicano via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Payton Talbott def. Felipe Lima via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Gregory Rodrigues def. Jack Hermansson via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 4:21
• Jose Delgado def. Hyder Amil via knockout (knee and punches) – Round 1, 0:26
• Tracy Cortez def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Terrance McKinney def. Viacheslav Borshchev via submission (mounted guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:55
• Jacobe Smith def. Niko Price via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:03
• Jhonata Diniz def. Alvin Hines via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 317 results: Beneil Dariush rallies to defeat Renato Moicano