Israel Adesanya gets brutally honest about key aspect that would aid Renato Moicano against Beneil Dariush at UFC 311

Israel Adesanya has not entered the octagon since last August when he suffered a fourth-round submission loss to Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305. He is set to make his return next month when he faces Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 250 in his first non-title bout since February 2019.

'The Last Stylebender' recently weighed in on the upcoming UFC 311 clash between Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano. Speaking to Robert Whittaker on his podcast, FREESTYLEBENDER, the No. 2-ranked middleweight discussed the latter's path to victory, stating:

"I always like a guy with momentum. There's something about a guy when he has nothing to lose and you're like, 'oh, two fight skid, what's he going to do?' But then when a guy has momentum and that energy like Moicano has - not just in the cage, out of the cage - I feel like there's something there powerful that you can harness. In this fight with Dariush, like you said, Dariush is a different level grappler."

Adesanya continued:

"He's taken time off now to work on things, let his body heal and not take fights back to back. If I would pick, I'd go Moicano in this fight just because of the momentum and also because Dariush is coming off a long layoff, but if Dariush can get past, say, the first round or get success in the first round, it's going to be a hard night for Moicano, but yeah, I'll go Moicano decision in this fight."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano below:

Moicano enters UFC 311 riding a four-fight win streak, that includes three finishes. Meanwhile, Dariush has been finished by each of his past two opponents, with both bouts coming back in 2023. His last victory came at UFC 280 in October 2022.

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Israel Adesanya reveals that his next rivalry with Alex Pereira will be in a different sport

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira took part in one of the greatest rivalries in modern combat sports history. Speaking to guest Robert Whittaker on his podcast, FREESTYLEBENDER, the No. 2-ranked middleweight revealed that their next rivalry will take place in a different sport, stating:

"Me and him were talking about playing ping pong yesterday. I was like, 'that's our next rivarly'. I'm pretty good at ping pong so I was like, you know, that's something I can try to get him at, but he's pretty good, as well, he said."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments on Alex Pereira below (14:34):

Adesanya and Pereira have both shared that their rivalry in the octagon is behind them. The two stars have expressed an interest in training alongside one another, however, it is unclear if that will come to fruition.