After initially offering Paddy Pimblett to Drew Dober, Renato Moicano revealed that his true intention was to get the attention of the Briton to fight him.
Moicano won at UFC Fight Night 235 last weekend and made his congratulatory statement to Dober. In his comment, the Brazilian offered Pimblett as Dober’s next opponent, but his suggestion received a different response. Instead of Dober, “The Baddy” instead challenged Moicano to face him. While this might be surprising for some, Moicano disclosed this was actually the plan.
“That’s not the way they work, UFC is protecting him,” Moicano told The MMA Hour. “How am I going to call him? This is chess, not checkers. If I go over that, then I’m giving my strategy to you right now.
“Now everybody knows, but if I go over that and I say, ‘Hey, Paddy Pimblett, I’m going to beat you up,’ everybody does that. So I said, OK, I’m going to make him get the bait. Because if I beat Drew Dober and I say Drew Dober will beat you, he’s going to get mad because he’s going to say, ‘Hey, I can beat you. You beat Drew Dober.’ So, at the end of the day, ‘Money’ Moicano is winning again. This is chess, not checkers.”
Pimblett has become a target of several after making another victory by defeating Tony Ferguson, whom he defeated at UFC 296 last December. Although the fighter remains unranked, his clean UFC slate is painting him as one of the promotion’s up-and-coming talents, making him an alluring match for others. Needless to say, Moicano wants to be part of it and fight him, whether in Brazil or in the United Kingdom. According to the 34-year-old, his win over Pimblett could be his “ticket to the top 10, to top 5 of the division.”
“Then he will have to fight me,” Moicano said. “Because if you go on my page and you say, ‘I will smoke you,’ now UFC cannot protect you because you put your name on the line, my brother. Let me tell you something, if you want to fight in Brazil, I’m ready. But maybe you’re too afraid to go to Brazil. I get it; Brazil is a little bit dangerous. But I can fight you in London, in any place, because you are easy money. I respect you, but I will beat you, so no worries.”
