Moicano Releases Statement Following Punishing UFC 272 Loss

Renato Moicano showed a lot of guts stepping up on four days notice to fight Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 272.

And then he showed even more guts by surviving five hard rounds with “RDA,” who beat Moicano up so badly the ringside physician was called in twice to check on him. Dos Anjos would be declared the winner of their fight via unanimous decision, with judges rendering scores of 50–44, 49–45, and 49–44.

It’s one of those beatdowns that will undoubtedly gain Moicano a certain amount of grisly prestige, like Kris Moutinho’s loss to Sean O’Malley or Corey Sandhagen’s thrashing at the hands of Max Holloway. Watching it live, we vacillated between disbelief and horror that Moicano managed to stay in the fight.

Coming out of the fourth round, it felt wrong that the referee, ringside physician, and Moicano’s corner wouldn’t stop it. But then Renato dug deep and pulled out the fifth round on two of the judges’ scorecards.

Just more of those aforementioned guts on display, but it was the kind of display that takes years off a young fighter’s career. Following the fight Moicano was taken directly to the hospital for observation, and he’s since been released. On his social media, he posted up a message to his fans that ignores the controversy and seems rather defiant in tone regarding how we should think about the fight.

“No excuses, thanks Rafael dos Anjos and UFC for this opportunity,” Moicano wrote. “This defeat doesn’t define me. I’m not a loser, because I lost. And I’m not a winner when I win. I’m victorious in life, the way I handle myself with my family and my team. Thanks God, this is a great time to be alive. Never forget, I’m always chasing the BIG MONEY PORRA!”

Moicano came into UFC 272 weekend on a two fight win streak including an impressive rear naked choke win over Alexander Hernandez at UFC 271. But with just four days to get to Vegas and cut down to a 160 pound catchweight, Rafael dos Anjos was too much for him. We hope he got his big money for stepping in last minute to save the co-main event. He certainly earned it the hard way.