Fresh off his victory over Drew Dober on Saturday night at the UFC APEX, Renato Moicano spoke with MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani to discuss his plans future plans in the UFC, who he wants to fight next, and his ambitions post-fighting career.
Sporting seven stitches above his eye from an accidental headbutt from Drew Dober in the second round, Moicano said he felt good following his win over the number fifteen-ranked lightweight and doesn’t want to leave it too long before he enters the octagon once again.
Moicano vs. Paddy Pimblett?
Moicano took to Twitter following his victory and claimed he wanted to fight Beneil Dariush next in Brazil. In a twist of events, Moicano then tweeted again, saying he would like to see his opponent from Saturday night, Drew Dober, fight Paddy Pimblett. The Liverpudlian dismissed this suggestion and responded by calling out Moicano, and the Brazilian accepted the callout.
Pimblett, albeit not a ranked fighter, is a big draw in the UFC due to his large following, and Moicano knows this. His method in gaining Pimblett’s attention seemed by design, and it was very astute. Moicano claimed that he didn’t want to call out Pimblett directly as he believes the UFC is protecting one of their up-and-coming stars from fighting top opposition, so by drawing in Pimblett and baiting him for a response, which he did, the demand is now there for a fight. ”It’s a game of chess, not checkers,” Moicano told Helwani.
Moicano’s win over Drew Dober took his MMA record to 18-5-1, and he has now won four of his last five fights. Having managed to save up some money from his fighting career, he’s been able to make some shrewd investments. Moicano still doesn’t have enough money to retire and has ambitions to embark on a career in law enforcement post-fighting. Some of his friends from American Top Team have recently begun a career in the police force, and Moicano sees this as a noble career path, one which he is looking to follow.
For now, his focus is still on fighting, and a potential fight with Paddy Pimblett is already on the cards just two days after his last outing. Moicano is ranked number thirteen and would be the first ranked opponent of Pimblett’s UFC career (should they fight), something which is needed should the Brit want to mount a charge towards a title shot. Pimblett is unbeaten in five fights in the UFC and most recently gained an impressive victory over MMA legend Tony Ferguson in December at UFC 296.
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