Renato Moicano dominated and finished Chris Duncan in the main event of UFC Vegas 115 on April 4, and that rear-naked choke victory likely saved Moicano’s fighting career.
Moicano felt his back against the wall after consecutive defeats to Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush in 2025 snapped a four-fight winning streak, the longest of his UFC career. He went from rematching Brian Ortega to battling an unranked replacement at the Meta APEX, but still saw bigger stakes in the fight.
“There was a lot of
pressure,” Moicano told MMA Fighting. “Coming off two losses, while also dedicating myself to YouTube. Everyone was saying the same thing he was, ‘Oh, he’s on YouTube, he’s not training.’ Man, I was training. And the truth is, if I had lost that fight, my MMA career would have ended right there and I probably would’ve become a streamer instead.”
“Before the fight, at times I thought, ‘Damn, if I lose it’s over, right?’ But I wasn’t going to retire right there no matter what. If I had lost, I probably would’ve gone home afterward, all beat up like Chris Duncan is, and thought, ‘Damn, is this even worth it?’ Beating people is easy, the problem is getting beat up [laughs].”
Moicano has gained notoriety as a YouTuber in Brazil, a very profitable career he will embrace full-time once his run as a fighter is over. Even Duncan, his American Top Team teammate, questioned whether his heart was still invested in fighting or on the fence between MMA and a streaming future.
“I really dedicated myself over the last four months,” Moicano said. “And it wasn’t because I was going to fight Chris Duncan, it was because I was going to fight Ortega, a guy who had already beaten me. If I lost twice to the same guy, then it really would’ve been over. It was a chance to close a chapter against Brian Ortega, but unfortunately he pulled out of the fight.”
Moicano said he took his gloves off after the victory to “bait” people to believe he was about to announce his retirement, but it never crossed his head to do it after a stoppage victory Saturday night. Now back to the winning column, Moicano asks the UFC to re-book him against Ortega as the main event of a Fight Night card in Brazil.
“I have a lot of popularity, we could fill an arena,” Moicano said. “I think Paddy Pimblett would be ideal because he’s the most popular and just fought for a belt, but I don’t think that fight will happen. [Benoit St. Denis] doesn’t make sense since I’ve already beaten him. He won’t want to fight me again. What does he gain? Then there’s Dan Hooker, which I think is a great fight. He’s in a position where he can’t turn down too many fights. But I also don’t think the UFC will match up two veterans in a similar situation. The fight that would make the most sense for the UFC would be Moicano vs. Ortega. Why? Because it was already booked once.”
“I have no problem saying I’ve turned down fights because I’m at a point in my career where I have to think about myself,” he added. “I’ve taken fights on three days’ notice against a former champion [Rafael dos Anjos], I’ve fought Jose Aldo, I fought [Islam] Makhachev on short notice. If someone wants to call me soft, go ahead. I’m sure I can fight anyone in the world. It’s just that it doesn’t make sense for me to fight just anyone right now, especially now that I’m also creating content. What do I gain from that? I fought Chris Duncan, and like I said at the end, what do I gain? I want to fight guys who are easier but have a name, have a ranking. That’s why I mentioned Ortega, Dan Hooker, BSD. It has to be a fight that makes sense.”
The UFC has no plans for a Brazil card in 2026 at the moment. Moicano, however, believes things could change for the second half of the year.
“If it’s a numbered event, not even [Alex Pereira] ‘Poatan’ will fight in Brazil,” Moicano said. “No chance. He’ll fight at the White House and then they’ll try to make him fight Jon Jones. That’s the fight to make. I still have hope for that one. As for a numbered event in Brazil, it would be Charles [Oliveira]. And if not Charles, then Moicano has a great chance because I’m very popular. That’s the truth. People like me and not even because of fighting, but because of my YouTube channel.”
“But the UFC is very involved with politics, and we know there’s a lot going on,” he continued. “Not only the war in Iran, but also a war for economic control. The United States has been increasing its influence in places like Venezuela and beyond. More and more, I think the United States will want to build stronger influence over Brazil because of its natural resources. Brazil has a ton of them. So I think relations between Brazil and the United States will keep getting closer. And since the UFC is connected to Trump’s circle through Dana White, there’s a good chance we’ll see more events in Brazil. And if there’s a Fight Night in Brasília, it’s got to be Renato Moicano, so I can go there and talk some trash.”
