Renato Moicano came up short in his maiden UFC title shot last weekend but has already fixed his crosshairs on his next target in the Octagon.
The Brazilian was submitted by champion Islam Makhachev in the first round of the UFC 311 main event in Inglewood, California late on Saturday night after he stepped in on short notice to replace the original title challenger, Arman Tsarukyan, who withdrew a day prior after complaining of a back injury.
Moicano — who was originally supposed to fight Beneil Dariush on the same card — was unable to mount any significant offence en route to what just his second loss in his past eight contests.
And amid plans to get back towards the summit of the division following defeat by the champion, Moicano has identified his ideal next opponent: Paddy Pimblett.
The Liverpool man has been calling for a fight with Moicano for several months, even expressing an interest in coach a season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ opposite the South American, and was critical of his performance against Makhachev in social media.
“Paddy Pimblett, easy money,” Moicano told Ariel Helwani on Monday, as noted by Bloody Elbow. “He’s talking a lot of sh*t, book that fight already. I’m going to make him pay for saying that.
“That’s what drives me crazy, he’s never got a fight on short notice and I fought the pound-for-pound [best] on one day, and he’s still talking sh*t. Who has this guy beat in the UFC?
“Imagine he fights Islam Makhachev. Tell me you think Paddy Pimblett beats Islam Makhachev. I don’t know. I don’t see him beating Islam Makhachev. I don’t see him being competitive, but what can I do, I was not competitive too. In the perfect world, I would fight Paddy Pimblett in Brasilia. I know the UFC is going back in April or May to Brazil, and I want that main event against Paddy Pimblett.”
