Kicking off the main card at UFC Vegas 30 on Saturday night were lightweights Renato Moicano and Jai Herbert.
England’s Herbert, a Cage Warriors champ, had entered the UFC last year too much fanfare but come up short against Francisco Trinaldo. Brazil’s Moicano, with the UFC since 2014, was 1-3 in his past four and looking to bounce back from a knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev.
Both lightweights took center in the opening round and exchanged low kicks. Moicano put Herbert against the fence and then landed a takedown. Herbert got back to his feet, and Moicano took him down again. Moicano landed in side mount and then transitioned to half mount, finally ending up in full mount. Herbert tried to explode but got put against the fence. Herbert got to his feet and landed a fantastic right hand that got Moicano’s attention. Herbert landed a left hook and leg kick which made Moicano shoot for a successful takedown. Moicano landed in full mount. Moicano ends the first round on top, landing three successful takedowns in that round.
After spending lots of time in mount in the first without finding a finsih, Renato Moicano found a way to win in the second.
Moicano started round two walking down Herbert and then landed a takedown. Moicano got straight to full mount and landed several punches. Herbert got to his feet, and Moicano got to his back with another takedown. Moicano wasn’t able to do anything with Herbert’s back. Still, Moicano was in full mount for at least two minutes. Moicano landed an elbow and punch that looked to hurt Herbert. The referee instructed Herbert to move, and then Moicano grabbed Hebert’s neck, resulting in an immediate tap!
How about @MoicanoUFC at lightweight?!
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— UFC (@ufc) June 26, 2021
Official Result: Renato Moicano def. Jai Herbert by submission (rear-naked choke) Round 2, 4:34
