Renato Moicano is ready for his opportunity.
The veteran contender stumbled into the chance of a lifetime on Friday when Arman Tsaruykan was forced to withdraw from his UFC 311 title challenge against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev after suffering a back injury late Thursday night. Instead of facing Beneil Dariush on UFC 311’s pay-per-view card, as initially planned, Moicano now steps into the Makhachev bout on extremely short notice.
Moicano reacted to Friday’s big development on social media shortly after the news was made official.
“‘Money’ Moicano is coming for the belt. Be ready Islam Makhachev, tomorrow is ‘Money’ time,” he said. “Man, I’m so happy that I got this opportunity. I have been working for this for a long time and I knew that could happen, that’s why I was training five rounds, that’s why I was training for southpaw.
“I’m ready and tomorrow I’m going to shock the world. Be ready because I am. This is ‘Money’ Moicano and tomorrow I will be the champion of the world. Let’s f*cking go, let’s f*cking go. Time to go.”
Moicano (20-5-1) has won four consecutive bouts, including a perfect 3-0 run in 2024 that saw him follow a decision over Drew Dober with two knockouts of Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint Denis.
Makhachev (26-1) is Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. With a victory on Saturday, he will set the new UFC record for most consecutive lightweight title defenses in UFC history. He captured the belt in 2022 with a submission of Charles Oliveira, and has since defended it three times, defeating Alexander Volkanoski twice before submitting Dustin Poirier this past June.
UFC CEO Dana White said neither Moicano nor Makhachev flinched at the prospect of accepting a new opponent on just a day’s notice.
“[Moicano] weighed in on championship weight to be prepared as the back-up in case something happened, and when we spoke to him this morning, I can tell you, he wants this fight,” White said in his social media announcement of the news. “And when I called Islam, Islam said, ‘Brother, I am the champion. I don’t care who it is, I will fight anyone.'”
Makhachev echoed those sentiments on Friday, writing on Instagram, “What does this title represent? It means you are the best in the world and if you are the best in the world, it doesn’t matter who’s going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let’s do this!”
UFC 311 takes place Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
