Renato Moicano’s UFC 311 adventure did not unfold how he expected it would.
Initially scheduled to face fellow top-10 lightweight Beneil Dariush on the main card, Moicano was promoted into a short-notice title fight versus Islam Makhachev, the undisputed 155-pound champion and the No. 1 fighter on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, the day before the event.
Moicano went over the dramatic 36-hour ordeal in a video posted to his “Money Moicano” YouTube channel Monday, explaining UFC brass contacted him the night before the weigh-ins advising him to make championship weight just in case something went wrong with either Makhachev or Makhachev’s scheduled challenger Arman Tsarukyan during their weight cuts.
Tsarukyan ended with withdrawing from his matchup with Makhachev, citing a back injury, and Moicano stepped up late to give his best effort as a massive underdog.
Moicano was submitted four minutes into the opening round, which snapped Moicano’s six-fight lightweight winning streak.
“I was ready, I was training for a southpaw, I felt great,” Moicano explained. “My power was there, the weight cut was great, I had a very good night of sleep the day before but I didn’t have time to prepare myself on the techniques Islam has, the takedowns, because Beneil Dariush doesn’t shoot for the takedown the way (Makhachev does).
“I didn’t even see the takedown. I was standing too high. I should have stood a bit lower so I could try to defend better the takedowns, but it is what it is. All respect to Islam Makhachev. That’s why he’s the champion.”
The Brazilian who turns 36 in May went on to explain that even though he just lost and is older for a lightweight title contender, his UFC 311 defeat has resulted in him being more motivated than ever to earn a title shot under different circumstances.
Moicano said he was happy with how the fight with Makhachev started and wants to return to action as soon as possible.
Fellow popular lightweight, Paddy Pimblett, criticized Moicano for tapping to the D’Arce choke Makhachev locked up.
Moicano and Pimblett have gone back and forth with some trash talk on social media and Moicano proclaimed in his video that he would submit Pimblett if they fought.
Pimblett, 30, improved to 6-0 in the UFC last year when he submitted Bobby Green at UFC 304 in July. Pimblett’s next opponent has not yet been determined.
Moicano was ranked as the No. 10 contender at lightweight prior to his UFC 311 loss, while Pimblett currently sits at No. 13.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.