Renato Moicano is not amused by Michael Chandler’s desperate attempts to score a fight with Irish megastar Conor McGregor.
On Saturday (February 3), Moicano will return to the Octagon for a co-main event clash with lightweight knockout artist Drew Dober at UFC Vegas 85. Moicano, who sits as the No. 13 ranked fighter at 155, often discusses the goings on in the division via his ‘Money’ Moicano YouTube channel. One of the fights that he finds himself regularly referencing is the on-again-off-again showdown between Conor McGregor and former Bellator MMA champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler.
First announced in early 2023, McGregor and Chandler have been jawing back and forth for a full year. They even went toe-to-toe as coaches on the last edition of The Ultimate Fighter. Yet here we are still waiting for an official announcement.
Moicano is by no means a fan of either fighter, but Chandler’s non-stop “begging” has been nothing short of cringeworthy in the eyes of the Brazilian.
“Michael Chandler is so desperate to get this fight,” Moicano told MMA Fighting. “He’s almost begging. He’s almost on his knees, ‘McGregor fight me!’ I just think that’s hilarious.
“We don’t know if that fight’s going to happen. McGregor is full crazy nowadays. He’s making videos eating food and he looks drunk or on drugs or something, I don’t know. But I like McGregor, to be honest with you. I think he’s funny. I think he’s entertaining. Michael Chandler is just trying to get the fight and it’s kind of lame, if you ask me. It is what it is” (h/t MMA Mania).
Renato Moicano Would Love the chance to fight Conor McGregor
Moicano has fought some very big names during his decade-long run with the promotion. Brian Ortega, Jose Aldo, The Korean Zombie, Rafael Fiziev, and Rafael dos Anjos to name a few. He would admittedly love the opportunity to add Conor McGregor’s name to his resume, but he refuses to get down “on his knees” like Chandler.
“Chandler is saying, ‘Yes, yes, of course!’ On his knees all the time,” Moicano said. “[Chandler says,] ‘OK, I can beat you in any fight, I want you at your best version.’ F*ck you, brother. You just want to fight him. It’s fair game. Everyone wants to fight McGregor. If they offered me the fight, of course I would want to fight McGregor. He’s probably the biggest name in MMA and probably of all-time. Everybody knows McGregor.
“But at the same time, I think if Chandler approaches this differently, trying to trash talk, that would be even better. That’s the fight to make. They’re going to make the fight. There’s no other fight for McGregor. Right now, there is no other fight that makes sense and still McGregor tries to play him and he says OK. No, talk trash, talk sh*t about him, because that’s the way we like to watch fights with McGregor.”