Renato Moicano Says Ilia Topuria Needs an Easy Fight
Renato Moicano told MMA Fighting that he is the right opponent to bring Ilia Topuria back, because Topuria needs an easy fight after Justin Gaethje. Topuria is still unbooked following the lightweight title loss at UFC White House on June 14.
“Ilia Topuria. That’s a name. He needs an easy fight, right?” Moicano said. “That’s the truth. We know how the UFC operates.” He framed the choice as a promotional one. “Either they sacrifice him and Paddy Pimblett [against each other], or they’ll give him a fight to keep rolling, so the guy can get his confidence back.”Moicano did not treat that as a compliment.
“And I think his confidence is broken,” he said. “A year ago… Even less, six months ago, I was saying this guy could possibly be one of the greatest of all time, but you’re only as good as your last fight.” Topuria was 17-0 before Gaethje stopped him. He is 17-1 now, and Gaethje is the undisputed lightweight champion at 28-5.
The result was a fourth-round corner stoppage at the end of the round on the White House lawn. Topuria outlanded Gaethje 97 significant strikes to 91 and scored the fight’s only knockdown, then faded after a high-output second round. Moicano still left room for a rebound. “He can come back and knock out the next guy,” he said, “because I think this guy is pissed off, right?” He also pulled back from making the call official.
“I think that fight would make sense,” Moicano said. “I don’t even know if that’s the fight I’ll ask for.” He is booked against Tom Nolan in the main event of UFC Vegas 123 on October 31, after a planned bout with Brian Ortega at UFC 331 was canceled when Ortega withdrew. A Topuria fight would sit after that date, not instead of it.
His explanation of the loss centered on Topuria chasing a finish. “What was his mistake? He thought he could knock out a guy who’s difficult to KO,” Moicano said.
“He thought he could knock him out at any moment.” He pointed to the buildup. “He said in interviews, ‘You know, Justin. I’ll knock you out.’ ‘You know. I’ll knock you out when I want.’ It’s another thing to step into the cage and act as if it’s true.”
Moicano said Topuria nearly got there and then paid for it. “He almost knocked him out, got beaten up so badly, that he was destroyed,” he said. “It was a total humiliation, that’s the truth.” He called it one of the biggest upsets in the sport and tied the setting to the damage. “Losing on the biggest spectacle the UFC has ever had,” he said. “It created a legend, right? Justin Gaethje became a legend after that night.”
The closing point was about what comes next, not a rematch. “It’s that old story: he’s going to have to put on the humility shoes, stay nice and quiet, and that makes a man even more dangerous,” Moicano said.
Pimblett has already said he wants Topuria if a title shot is not available, and Dana White has said a Topuria-Pimblett fight could headline a numbered card without a belt attached. Moicano is offering a different return, one he described as a confidence fight, while his own next bout remains Nolan on October 31.
