If Renato Moicano wants to go, Paddy Pimblett is down.
‘Money’ scored his fourth-straight win inside the Octagon on Saturday, securing a doctor’s stoppage TKO over Benoit Saint-Denis following the second round of their UFC Paris headliner.
Moicano bloodied and battered the ‘God of War’ throughout the opening round, but was unable to secure the finish. Still, the damage was done as Saint-Denis walked back to his corner sporting two horrifically swollen eyes and a couple of deep gashes.
Saint-Denis delivered a solid performance in the second stanza and even managed to win the round on all three judge’s scorecards. Unfortunately, the French finisher was unable to see out of his right eye prompting the cageside physician to recommend the fight be stopped.
During his post-fight interview, Moicano wasted no time calling out fellow top-15 contender Paddy Pimblett, calling the Liverpudlian “easy money.” And just for good measure, ‘Money’ added fifth-ranked Dan Hooker to his hit list.
“Next I want easy money Paddy Pimblett. I want easy fights. Dan Hooker. Money Moicano wants easy fights.”
It didn’t take long for Pimblett to respond and accept Moicano’s challenge on social media.
“Let’s do this,” Pimblett replied on Instagram while tagging Moicano in his post.
Paddy Pimblett eyes potential return to the octagon in December
Pimblett’s last appearance inside the Octagon came at UFC 304 in Manchester. ‘The Baddy’ secured a first-round submission victory over Bobby ‘King Green, moving him to 6-0 inside the Octagon and extending his unbeaten streak to eight.
As for when we could potentially see Moicano vs. Pimblett, the latter indicated that he’d be good to go by December — presumably for the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year in Las Vegas — but that all depends on how Moicano is feeling following his 10-minute encounter with Benoit Saint-Denis in The City of Light.