Renato Moicano didn’t expect Paddy Pimblett to kill him with kindness.
In the aftermath of his finish of Jalin Turner at UFC 300, Moicano wasted no time looking toward the future with a string of potential matchups available to him. Pimblett previously called him out, Moicano responded rather emphatically, and it appeared there was a growing rivalry between them.
But days following his latest win, Moicano admitted that he actually had to back off from making some of his harshest comments regarding Pimblett after learning that the 29-year-old Liverpudlian praised his performance this past Saturday night.
“I wanted to talk s*** about Paddy, but he made a lot of good comments about me so I’m not going to trash on him,” Moicano said Monday on The MMA Hour. “He congratulates me about the fight, he said, ‘Very good fight for Moicano.’ Somebody sent me the video.”
The video came from Pimblett’s YouTube channel, where he reacted to all the fights at UFC 300, including Moicano’s second-round stoppage of Turner.
In the moment, Pimblett actually expected to hear Moicano name drop him as a potential opponent after Bobby Green called him out minutes earlier following a win over Jim Miller. Pimblett sounded almost disappointed that Moicano failed to mention him, but he still gave the Brazilian a glowing review for surviving an early knockdown and then coming back to score a finish of his own.
“Renato, where was the callout?” Pimblett said. “Thought Moicano was going to mention me there, but props on the performance. That was a very, very good performance. Done well to survive the end of that first round and then come back out and finished him in the second. That was a quality performance by Moicano. Congratulations, lad. Top 10 for you.
“He is a funny guy. You never know, maybe me versus Moicano. That would be a very good season of The Ultimate Fighter. You never know. You could see that in the next few years.”
It remains to be seen whether Pimblett will get his wish, but Moicano isn’t opposed to the idea.
Of course, Moicano’s graciousness towards Pimblett can only go so far, especially if they’re going to end up fighting each other.
“He said he wants to do maybe The Ultimate Fighter, Moicano against Paddy. I would not be against that,” Moicano said. “I think that would be very, very funny. So I’m not going to talk too much s*** about him.
“But if he wants the smoke, I’m going to make him easy f******* money, brother. I know you’re being nice. I know all that s***. But don’t forget, Moicano wants money. In God we trust. All the others, pay in cash motherf*******.”
Now riding a three-fight win streak, Moicano isn’t certain what the UFC will do with him next, but he wants to stay busy. In an ideal world, Moicano prefers to return as early as the UFC 301 card in Brazil, although that seems unlikely to happen.
“One hundred percent, I’m down,” Moicano said of fighting on the May 4 card. “I’m willing. I can fight tomorrow. I am a man on a mission. I want to be in the top five this year.”
As much as he might be open to the fight with Pimblett later this year, Moicano also has options available to him higher up the ranks in the lightweight division.
There are a couple of names in particular that he expects to hear in the coming weeks, but Moicano would love the chance to grow his star power along with his standing if possible.
“I’m in a strange place,” Moicano said. “I’m going to be in the top 10 but I don’t know if they’re going to give me [Beneil] Dariush or Dan Hooker. But at the same time, I don’t think they have the star power to be a star, and I think I will be a star. I just need a couple more fights.
“If I keep fighting the way I’m fighting, if I keep talking the way I’m talking, if I keep connecting with the truth, my message is going to resonate with people. My English is going to get better and I will be a big star in MMA — and not only in MMA.”
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