Renato Moicano Takes Tony Ferguson Shot While Teasing UFC Exit After Three Fights
Renato Moicano isn't holding back after his controversial UFC Vegas 123 loss, mapping out an exact retirement timeline to avoid a Tony Ferguson-style decline.
This past weekend, Tom Nolan extended his winning streak to six after securing a third-round TKO victory over Renato Moicano in the main event of UFC Vegas 123. Renato entered the bout as the No. 8-ranked lightweight in the world, but following the defeat, his official ranking plummeted six spots to No. 14.
Even more than the rankings slide, it is the highly controversial second-round stand-up ordered by referee Dan Miragliotta that is drawing heat from the MMA community. Frustrated by the referee's error, Moicano is now openly contemplating walking away from MMA entirely while breaking his silence about his plan moving forward.
Renato Moicano Says UFC Pay Will Not Keep Him Past His Final Contract Fights
Moicano dominated the first round with an early takedown and a tight body triangle. Nolan tried to turn things around in the second round with striking, but Moicano executed his game plan again and quickly took Nolan’s back.
As Moicano landed ground-and-pound while searching for a rear-naked choke, referee Dan Miragliotta surprisingly interfered, and without any warning, he stood both fighters up. The reset became a turning point for Nolan. He landed a clean blow to drop Moicano and nearly stopped him at the end of the second. In the third round, Nolan never let up, securing the finish at 1:28.
The 37-year-old has since moved past the loss and started talking about how his career ends. He told Ariel Helwani that he plans to fight out the three remaining bouts on his contract and retire from MMA when they finish.
He wants to move into influencer boxing, comparing himself to Tony Ferguson as a veteran slide he refuses to replicate while explicitly tying his decision to promotional pay scales.
'I want to do boxing, like influencer boxing. I want to beat up people that don't know how to fight,' Moicano said. 'I don't wanna be like Tony Ferguson. Eight fights, trying to be a champion, 40 years old, on a six-fight losing streak. I don't want that.'
He added, 'Sometimes you have to realize when you're done. You have to realize how much gas you have left in the tank, how much love for the sport you have… I think after these three I'm done because is not gonna pay me enough.'
Ferguson was once the boogeyman of the lightweight division, riding an iconic 12-fight winning streak and capturing the interim UFC championship. However, after losing his title opportunity to Justin Gaethje in 2020, Ferguson plummeted into an unprecedented, record-breaking eight-fight losing streak inside the Octagon. Moicano refuses to experience such a nightmare scenario in his own career.
He earned a lightweight title opportunity against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January 2025, losing via a first-round D'Arce choke submission. Later that year, he suffered another setback, losing a unanimous decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 317 in June.
He bounced back in style at UFC Vegas 115 in April 2026, where he secured a dominant second-round rear-naked choke submission victory over Chris Duncan, before suffering a recent setback against Nolan on Saturday.
