Despite not getting the desired result and taking a beating, Renato Moicano is at peace with accepting his fight against Rafael dos Anjos on just five days’ notice.
Moicano doesn’t regret stepping up to save the UFC 272 co-main event, even after suffering a tough decision loss to the former lightweight champion dos Anjos. It was an uphill battle for Moicano (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) from the start as he had just five days to prepare the best he could for his first five-round UFC fight, travel from Brazil to Las Vegas, and cut 20 pounds to make the 160-pound catchweight.
It was a hectic situation but one that Moicano cherished.
“My manager sent a message to me saying, ‘What do you think about dos Anjos’ style?’ And I said, ‘He’s good, but I can beat him. If I have a good training camp, I can be ready,'” Moicano told MMA Junkie, recalling the moment he was contacted to fight at UFC 272. “Then he said that he (dos Anjos) was looking for an opponent in five days. I thought, ‘Man, I’m heavy. I’m 180 (pounds).’ He said let’s go offer it to the UFC and I said, ‘Offer it and let’s see what they say. Just tell them I’m heavy.’
“We told them I was 180 and they said, ‘OK, we’re going to figure this out because there’s a lot of people involved. A lot of people answered the call to try to fight him.’ So I was waiting, and I didn’t think of it too much because when opportunity comes, you have to take chances.”
Moicano considered the fight to be a good opportunity for his career and genuinely thought he could beat his fellow Brazilian even without a training camp. The 32-year-old knew he wasn’t 100 percent fit to fight, but that wasn’t going to stop him.
“I hate excuses. I really hate excuses, but of course I wasn’t 100 percent,” Moicano said. “Of course, there’s no doubt. But if I take the fight, I always believe in me, and I always believe I can beat anybody in the UFC. I know that. So I don’t really care too much about the loss and if I have or I don’t have a training camp. Even if I don’t have a training camp, I can fight anybody and beat anybody in the world.”
Even in defeat, Moicano believes he proved a lot about himself and his skill set to the MMA world at UFC 272. He believes he’s still on the rise and wants the UFC to book him in another five-round fight – but this time with a proper training camp.
“I want to fight five rounds again, but in my best shape, sharp, ready to perform and ready to put the fans applauding and going crazy,” Moicano said. “I want to be known by the fans, and I want to make money. So what is better than a main event? I feel like this could be my bonus if UFC says. ‘Main event, you vs. Bobby Green in a UFC Fight Night. Let’s go.'”
