LAS VEGAS – Renato Moicano is keeping it honest.
His honest assessment right now? Well, he doesn't really know what the future has in store.
Ahead of his UFC Fight Night 292 headliner Saturday vs. Tom Nolan at Meta APEX, Moicano (21-7-1 MMA, 13-7 UFC) revealed he has two fights left on his contract. Regardless of how they go, he plans to hit free agency and see what's out there.
"I want to beat Tom Nolan, keep going, get a high-profile opponent, and, like I said, I want to see what is next for me," told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. "First, I need to deal with Tom Nolan. ... But my goal is to fight the fights of my contract and then see what's next."
"... I'm 37. Soon, I'm about to be 38. I'm not fighting
until I'm 40. Maybe I fight out my contract and that's it. Maybe not. I don't know. I love UFC. I want to be in the UFC. To fight this contract and then get a new contract would have to be very good money. Let's wait and see."
Regardless of his longer-term awareness, Moicano said his mentality for the immediate task at hand hasn't changed. He doesn't consider Nolan (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) "easy money" as he has categorized other opponents as in the past.
"No, it's the same," Moicano said. "I need to win. Otherwise, I just get paid half. I'm going over there to try to beat the motherf*cker and keep going. ... Tom Nolan is not easy. He's a good striker, good grappler, well-rounded. I just think I'm better than him."
Should he get through Nolan, there will be one fight left on his current UFC deal and he'll be coming off back-to-back wins. If it was up to him, Moicano would like to close on a pretty big-name matchup.
"I said this last time, I think Ilia Topuria is an easy fight," Moicano said. "So if I beat Tom Nolan and they put me against Ilia Topuria as his comeback fight."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Renato Moicano wants to fight out UFC contract and explore options
