Renato Moicano is ready to see what he’s worth.
The lightweight veteran faces Tom Nolan in the UFC Vegas 123 main event on Saturday at the Meta APEX. He told MMA Fighting he has three fights left on his contract, and he wants to finish it.
I want to fight this deal out for sure. I want to do the whole thing and then let’s see what happens. I would like to be a free agent, too. … Just to see what it’s like, and in Brazil, I’m getting big, like getting popular. So who knows? Maybe boxing, influencing, something like that, doing all this stuff other than MMA.
Moicano, 37, said the money will decide what comes next, and he has plenty going on outside the cage.
I have another business, I have this YouTube, I have the gym, I have other stuff that I’m doing. I’m starting to manage some guys in Brazil, too. I have this MMA show going on Dec. 5. So, who knows? I’m not making any plans.
He also had no interest in another try at Brian Ortega. Their rematch fell apart twice this year, at UFC 326 in March and at UFC 331 in September, with Ortega withdrawing both times. Moicano said the UFC offered it again.
UFC asked me, ‘Do you want to fight Brian November in Qatar?’ And I say, hell no, I’m not gonna fighting Brian Ortega again, because I just cannot trust that he’s going to show up to the fight.
He chose Nolan, who has won five straight, instead. Moicano also wanted to fight soon, because his wife is expecting twins in December.
Moicano snapped a two-fight skid in April with a second-round submission of Chris Duncan. Before that, he was stopped by Islam Makhachev in a title fight at UFC 311 in January 2025 and lost a decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 317.
