Money by name, money by nature – if there’s anyone who ‘cannot afford to lose’ at UFC 311, its popular Brazilian lightweight, Renato ‘Money’ Moicano.
Five fantastic fights feature on the main card of this weekend’s PPV, with arguably the most underrated of the bunch being the lightweight showdown between Renato Moicano and Beneil Dariush.
There’s far more than a place in the Top 6 on the line for Moicano, with the popular Brazilian certainly making the most of his time on the microphone at the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference.
Renato Moicano reveals why he ‘cannot afford to lose’ UFC 311 fight
Despite having superstars such as Islam Makhachev and Jiri Prochazka alongside him on stage, Renato Moicano received one of the biggest pops from the crowd at the UFC 311 press conference.
Although he’s preparing for an incredibly tough fight against Dariush this Saturday, Moicano would first take aim not at his incoming opponent, but at California governor Gavin Newsom.
“What’s up mother****** – first of all, before your question, you should talk to the first responders on the wildfires in California – you deserve better than Gavin Newsom.”
“F*** that, you deserve better; when they come to me to fight in California, I thought only [about] state taxes – f*** that.”
As per the Greenleaf Trust, the top income tax rate in California sits at around 13.3% in addition to a sizable top federal rate of 37% – as Moicano put it, he simply cannot afford to lose and miss out on his win money.
“Let me tell you something my brother, I cannot afford to lose. I respect Beneil Dariush, he is good, well-rounded but guess what? I’m winning [this fight].
“I cannot afford to lose… Free market capitalism: you eat what you kill, and I’ll kill him to get money, let’s f***** go.”
Moicano will be hoping that his performance at UFC 311 will be enough to earn him a rare post-fight bonus – despite being ‘Money Moicano’, the Brazilian hasn’t earned an extra $50K since his 2018 fight with Cub Swanson.
“To be honest, with this inflation, this bonus kind of needs to be updated, you know,” said Moicano in a recent interview with Caroline Pearce.
“$50K is not the same as like 10 years ago, but it’ll still be good to make some extra cash.”
According to various online inflation calculators, $50,000 in 2014 (when the UFC introduced the new post-fight bonus structure) is now equivalent to approximately $66,657 today.
Renato Moicano credits ‘money persona’ for his rise in popularity
Renato Moicano might not yet be a ‘household name’ in the wider combat sports world, but he’s certainly one of the most popular fighters competing on the current UFC roster.
Yet despite being in the UFC for over a decade, it’s only been in recent years that his popularity has exploded; something that he credits his ‘money persona’ for.
“It’s funny you know, I have been in the UFC for 10 years and I didn’t have many fans or many people watching me and now – I wouldn’t say I have a huge amount of fans – but some people like my work, what I say, think I’m funny and I’m happy with that.”
Moicano is approached by MMA and cryptocurrency fans everywhere he goes, but “especially in Brazil,” where he’s viewed by many as a local hero.
“Especially people that like Bitcoin and they have a libertarian type of politics because I talk a lot about that.
“But to be honest, I don’t care too much, I’m not here to please anybody, I just want money.”
UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan goes down this Saturday, live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.