Renato Moicano wants a quick turnaround after finishing Jai Herbert via submission at UFC Vegas 30.
After a slick submission victory over Jai Herbert, Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt Renato Moicano does not wish to sit around for too long before his next outing. In fact, the 32-year-old even knows what names interest him on his path to climb the lightweight rankings: Gregor Gillespie and Islam Makhachev.
In an interview with Super Lutas, Moicano named both men because a win over such impressive athletes might put him on the fast track to the belt. Furthermore, Renato believes both Gillespie and Makhachev are fighters most athletes in the division avoid, which could help him to get his wish granted.
“I would really like to fight Gregor Gillespie. I know he’s a guy a lot of people avoid, right? I believe that the fights most guys avoid are easier to get. I also used to talk about Islam Makhachev. Right now, though, I only have one fight on my UFC contract. First I’ll have to renew it to see who my next opponent will be. I’m all right. I didn’t get hurt and I’m ready to come back soon.”
With two wins and one loss ever since he moved to the lightweight division from featherweight, Moicano points out a different state of mind than the one he had before. Now more matured and ready to chase the belt, Renato looks at fellow Brazilian and current champion Charles Oliveira as a role model to follow on his pursuit towards the top of the weight class.
“I stopped waiting. I used to get really focused and to be really hard on myself about my performances, my way of fighting and the way people had to see me. Nowadays, I’m only concerned about winning my fights. I hope they give me a ranked opponent, but if they don’t, I’ll keep fighting and making my money. I look at Charles Oliveira as a role model, because he had some bumps in the road until he peaked. He got stronger until he became the champion.”
Before his win over Herbert, Moicano (15-4-1) suffered a knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev, in December 2020. The defeat came right after the 32-year-old’s lightweight debut in the Octagon, where he picked up a 44-second submission win over Damir Hadzovic, in March of the same year.