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Brazilian fighter Renato Moicano wants to put up a show in front of his hometown crowd for the first time on a UFC card as the promotion comes to Brazil in March 2020 and he wants to do it at a new weight class.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Moicano revealed that having fought for almost a decade at featherweight, he wants to make his debut at lightweight for his next fight.
“Some coaches have been asking me to do this test at lightweight. I was apprehensive at first, but Mike Brown has asked me many times since I moved to ATT. We’re used to cutting a lot of weight in Brazil, and that was never a problem for me, but I’ve suffered a lot in my last three fights. After my last loss, Mike Brown texted me saying ‘I think it’s time for you to move up. You have to at least make a test. If you don’t like it, fine, you can go back (to 145),’ and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Moicano lost his last couple of fights inside the Octagon against former featherweight king Jose Aldo and Chan Sung Jung after picking up back to back high profile victories against Cub Swanson and Calvin Kattar. Now, the Brazilian wants UFC to put him up against a top-brass opponent for his first fight at lightweight and he even has a name in mind - MMA veteran Clay Guida.
“I’m a huge fan of his and since he has fought many times in Brazil before, I don’t think that would be a problem for him. He’s a veteran and a popular fighter, so that would be good to maybe make it the main or co-main event in Brasilia. I’ve always looked out for big-name opponents since my debut and I plan on doing the same at 155: aim for big fights, good opponents.”
Moicano remains open to fighting at featherweight and insists that modern fighters remain flexible regarding shifting up and down weight classes but at the moment, his focus remains solely on the lightweight division.
“I don’t rule out going back to 145 because my losses were to top 5 opponents, but I’m ranked No. 8 now and I don’t know who I could fight there. It’s a good time to test myself at 155 and see how that goes. It’s all very flexible today, you see fighters jumping weight classes all the time, and I’m open to doing that for interesting fights that are worth it.”
