Renato Moicano Speaks Out: The Real Reason His Gaethje Fight Request Was Denied
Renato Moicano was more than willing to step up and fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 313. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.
Originally, Gaethje was scheduled to square off with Dan Hooker in a five-round co-main event that had fight fans salivating from the moment it was announced. Sadly, the fight would never come to fruition after ‘The Hangman’ suffered a broken hand whilst training, forcing him to bow out of the bout.
Determined to keep Gaethje on the card, the UFC immediately went to work looking for a replacement. One fighter who quickly made himself available was Moicano — the man who just recently stepped up and fought Islam Makhachev in January.
“2 weeks is good, I have enough time for 2 or 3 sparring sessions,” Moicano wrote on X, adding that “I will be ready if they call!”
Renato Moicano reveals why the UFC went in a different direction
As it turns out, the UFC did call, but after a few back-and-forth exchanges via text, the promotion decided to go in a different direction.
Offering some insight into why talks fell through on his Show Me The Money podcast, Moicano revealed that his request for the fight to be a catchweight was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Just to clarify, people were saying that I ran from the fight,” Moicano said. “But to be honest, the UFC messaged me [about the fight], and I said ‘Hey, I am 190lbs, we can do a catchweight?’ But they didn’t want a catchweight, so it is what it is.”
Instead, Justin Gaethje will meet the returning Rafael Fiziev in the UFC 313 co-main event. It will be Fiziev’s first time competing since suffering a leg injury during the second round of his September 2023 clash against Mateusz Gamrot.
Earlier that same year, ‘Ataman’ went toe-to-toe with Gaethje at UFC 286. ‘The Highlight’ came out on top that night, securing a majority decision victory over Fiziev, snapping the Kazakh’s six-fight win streak.
