Renato Moicano recently explained why he chose not to train with his teammate Dustin Poirier ahead of his upcoming bout against Benoît Saint Denis.
"Money" is stepping into enemy territory as he gears up to face Saint Denis in a crucial lightweight clash, headlining UFC Fight Night Paris this weekend at the Accor Arena in France.
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Few know that Moicano hones his skills at the prestigious American Top Team (ATT), working under the guidance of Mike Brown, 'Parrumpa' and more capable coaches. His training partners include the highly regarded lightweights Poirier and Thiago Moises, both of whom have faced "God of War" in the octagon before.
The 35-year-old Brazilian could have trained alongside "The Diamond", who knocked out Saint Denis at UFC 299 this past March, but Moicano somehow did not get that chance...
Moicano Reveals He Didn't Want To Disrupt Poirier's Time Off While Preparing For Saint Denis
During a recent episode of his Show Me The Money podcast, Moicano discussed his preparation and training camp for the upcoming clash with Saint Denis. "Money" revealed that he spent considerable time training with Moises, gaining valuable insights that he plans to apply in this fight.
I trained a lot with Thiago Moises, and he told me that the guy is very strong, especially because he fought Benoit and then we trained together," Moicano said. "We are both lightweights, of course, so he was telling me to be ready; he's very strong. I'm not underestimating him; I know he's tough, I know he's strong. Dustin Poirier also gave me some tips, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. I have to go over there and do my job, and my job is to beat him.
Moicano further shared that he wasn’t able to train with Poirier for this fight, as the former UFC interim champion was coming off his own grueling bouts, and Moicano didn’t want to interrupt his time off. "Money" mentioned that he caught up with "The Diamond" during International Fight Week in June, where they exchanged strategies for dealing with Saint Denis.
I know he had a very hard training camp against Islam [Makhachev] and Benoit, and I didn't want to bother him. Even though we talked in Las Vegas at the International Fight Week, and he was more than ready to come down and train with me to help me for the fight, he was on vacation or something. I said, 'Hey, I'm not gonna message you; I'm not gonna be selfish and try to make him come to ATT just to train with me'… I'm glad that I didn't have to train with Dustin Poirier because he would beat my a**.
Moicano is currently riding a three-fight win streak, most recently securing a second-round TKO victory over Jalin Turner at UFC 300 this past April. Meanwhile, "God of War" saw his five-fight winning momentum come to an end at the hands of Poirier in his last appearance in the Octagon, and he will be eager to return to his victorious form.