Renato Moicano wants back in action right after the debilitating loss to Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 311. After being so close to UFC gold, the Brazilian fighter now wants to reach the summit again and he sees a fight against Paddy Pimblett as the perfect opportunity to start the journey.
Moicano was responding to the brash Scouser who had accused him of tapping too quickly as Makhachev locked the D’Arce on him.
“I want to fight as soon as possible….I know Paddy Pimblett is talking some sh*t on the internet… One hundred percent if I fight Paddy Pimblett, I will make him tap in the first round.”
Pimblett, never one to shy away from trash talk had earlier criticized Moicano’s title fight loss and called him out for giving up too early despite having the opportunity of a lifetime on the table. The Brit has even gone so far as to claim he could choke Moicano out if they fought.
This fight does not make too much sense for Moicano at the moment though, because although he lost, he still just fought the champion of the division.
So ideally, if he still harbors title aspirations, he should be fighting someone in the top 5 of the division. But it seems his eyes remain focused on ‘The Baddy‘, who is not relenting with his trash talk.
Pimblett asks Moicano to not ‘tap out’ when they fight
The feud between Pimblett and Moicano has been simmering for some time, with Pimblett trying to make a name for himself by targeting higher-ranked contenders. As someone who just made it into the list of ranked fighters, Moicano would be the perfect match-up for Paddy.
Both fighters are decent grapplers, with skills on par with each other. But, if Paddy allowed Moicano, the Brazilian could light him up with his frenzied striking. However, Pimblett has developed into an extremely skilled submission artist, as was evident from his fight against Bobby Green.
Remember when Paddy Pimblett caught a body vs Bobby Green when he tried to shoot a takedown pic.twitter.com/i8n6TEyvxd
— ▸ primefrog (topuria szn) (@primefrogv2) January 21, 2025
He promises to do the same to Moicano. Paddy doesn’t believe the judges will need to work for their fight since he’s confident about getting a finish.
“Just make sure you don’t tap when I choke you.”
I won’t need judges for you they’ll have the night off if we fight just make sure you don’t tap when I choke u https://t.co/RrPJdL8w8L
— Paddy Pimblett (@PaddyTheBaddy) January 20, 2025
A win against someone like Moicano won’t necessarily increase Pimblett’s stock in the lightweight division to the point he could ask for any fight he wants. But it will certainly build on his reputation of being a “walk the talk” kind of a fighter. And it can go a long way at the 155 lbs division since the champion, Makhachev is running out of opponents as we speak.
