Renato Moicano plans MMA exit after three more UFC fights
The 37-year-old Brazilian tells Ariel Helwani he wants to box influencers instead: “I don’t want to be like Tony Ferguson.”
Renato Moicano says he plans to walk away from MMA once he finishes the three fights left on his UFC contract. The 37-year-old Brazilian told journalist Ariel Helwani on Monday (Nov. 2) that he wants to move into influencer boxing. The comments came two days after his TKO loss to Tom Nolan in the UFC Vegas 123 main event in Las Vegas.
It caps a loud week for Moicano. VF Comunica already covered how the fight turned after referee Dan Miragliotta stood the fighters up with the Brazilian on Nolan’s back, and why he won’t appeal the result.
What Moicano said about leaving MMA
“I want to finish my contract, and once I finish my contract, I don’t want to fight MMA anymore,” Moicano said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I want to do boxing, like influencer boxing. I want to beat up people that don’t know how to fight, like this Adin Ross show.”
He also put a price on the move. “If they pay me a f***ing half a million dollars, a million dollars to box, I would,” he said.
Moicano tied the decision to pay. “I think after these three, I’m done, because they’re not gonna pay me enough,” he said. He left a small opening for a new deal, without much hope: “If the deal is good for me, it’s OK, but I don’t think it will happen.”
Money has been a running theme for him. During fight week, he brushed off Nolan’s praise by saying he would rather have money and noted he would only get half his purse if he lost.
Why Moicano brought up Tony Ferguson
The cautionary tale Moicano picked was Tony Ferguson, the former interim lightweight champion. “I don’t want to be like Tony Ferguson,” he said. “Eight fights, trying to be a champion, 40 years old, on a six-fight losing streak. I don’t want that.”
Ferguson actually left the UFC after eight straight losses. “Sometimes you have to realize when you’re done,” Moicano added. “And for me, it’s these three more fights.”
None of those three fights has been announced. Moicano has been in the UFC since 2014, holds a 21-8-1 record and has lost three of his last four: to Islam Makhachev in the UFC 311 title fight, to Beneil Dariush at UFC 317 and now to Nolan. His lone win in that stretch came against Chris Duncan in April.
Moicano’s Jiu-Jitsu background
A Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Moicano has 11 submission wins in MMA. The latest was that April win, a rear-naked choke on Duncan in the second round.
He has taken that game to pure grappling too. In May 2024, he fought in the co-main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 7 in Las Vegas and beat Gracie Barra’s Cristian Guzman on points.
None of that carries over to boxing, where the fight stays on the feet. Against Nolan, Moicano spent much of two rounds on the Australian’s back and, after the loss, put it on himself: “I should have finished that guy.”
What do you think: do you want to see Renato Moicano boxing influencers, or would you rather see him re-sign with the UFC after these three fights? Tell us in the comments.
Read more:
- Renato Moicano won’t appeal Tom Nolan loss, curses referee
- Renato Moicano loses to Tom Nolan after disputed stand-up
- Renato Moicano rejects Tom Nolan’s praise at UFC Vegas 123
