Renato Moicano believes the UFC is protecting Paddy Pimblett from “real fights.”
Last week, ‘The Baddy’ revealed that he’s planning for a return to the Octagon in June or July with eyes on Moicano as a potential opponent.
“I saw something the other day on Twitter,” Pimblett said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I’m meant to be fighting Renato Moicano on UFC 301. No, no. The kids will be about two weeks old, something like that. I’m not fighting that soon. I won’t be fighting until like June [or] July.”
In the lead-up to #UFC296, @CryptoCom presents the latest episode of #BornBrave featuring @PaddyTheBaddy.
Dropping tomorrow 📺 pic.twitter.com/NTAK5YCfhd
— UFC (@ufc) December 7, 2023
Renato Moicano Challenges Paddy Pimblett to Fight a ‘Real Contender’
As expected, the callout made its way back to Moicano who delivered a fiery response on his own YouTube channel, suggesting that the UFC is protecting Pimblett from fighting legitimate contenders.
“The guy is delusional. He thinks that he calls the shots just because the UFC protects him and he was saying that he can’t fight at UFC 301 because he has kids on the way. I’m not going to sh*t on that, but I know why you won’t go to Brazil. It’s not because of your family. It’s because you just want to fight in places that you can control. That’s why you’re trying to fight in London. You know the UFC is trying to protect you from the real fights and that’s why you think you call the shots.”
Moicano was quick to disparage Pimblett’s last appearance inside the Octagon — his UFC 296 victory over 40-year-old Tony Ferguson. ‘El Cucuy’ went into the bout riding a six-fight losing streak while ‘The Baddy’ was sitting on a six-fight win streak. Their pairing was heavily criticized from the moment it was announced and the victory did Pimblett no favors when it comes to establishing him as the next big thing at 155.
“You have a lot of popularity, but as a fighter, you are nobody. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m not trying to disrespect you. It’s just the fans. You have a lot of fans because the UFC pushes you, but other than that, you are a nobody in the fight world. You haven’t accomplished anything. You haven’t beaten anybody. You haven’t fought anybody. You never fought a real contender so maybe I’ll give you a shot to fight me — a real contender.”
Before Renato Moicano can settle some business with Paddy Pimblett, he’ll have to go through his UFC 300 opponent, Jalin Turner. The two top 15 lightweights are set to square off at the landmark event on April 13 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“After that, maybe I’ll send you the contract, and let’s see if you have the balls to sign it because I don’t know,” Moicano added. “Maybe you’re just talking sh*t. You like to talk. Let’s see if you can walk the walk.”
Watch Moicano’s full response below:
