This Saturday night as Renato Moicano takes on teammate Chris Duncan at UFC Vegas 115 inside the UFC Apex, forcing two American Top Team standouts to scrap for a chance to move up the rankings.
“I never thought that I would fight somebody from American Top Team, but it happens. Then I just have to be cordial. Respectful. I respect him,” Moicano told reporters on Wednesday.
“I don’t have nothing against him. I just want to win. I want to win the fight, and I have no bad blood at all. Don’t get me wrong, I go over there to finish him.”
Moicano (20-7-1) recognizes this bout as a must-win to avoid a three-fight losing streak. With the lightweight division as deep as ever, another setback could significantly impact his standing and future opportunities in the promotion.
“That makes sense. I’m coming off two losses in-a-row. I think last time I was in this situation was when I lost to Korean Zombie and Jose Aldo. That was very hard for me,” he said.
“So definitely I need to win right now.”
Moicano was supposed to face Brian Ortega in March, but the latter withdrew from the bout due to what he describe as “nagging injuries.” Regardless Moicano still hopes the fight materializes.
“I would like Ortega 100%, but we don’t know what happened to him,” he said.
“UFC doesn’t disclose what happened to him. If I beat Chris Duncan on Saturday, and they want to make Ortega like in 2-3 months, 100%.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Renato Moicano above. He faces Chris Duncan at UFC Vegas 115 on Saturday night.
