UFC Greenville’s Renato Moicano Initially Wanted Zabit Magomedsharipov Fight
Featherweight contender Renato Moicano initially wanted to face Zabit Magomedsharipov rather than “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.
Moicano will headline UFC Greenville alongside Jung at the at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena on June 22.
It will be his first fight since a TKO loss to Jose Aldo in February and he certainly does not have an easy rebound opponent in Jung.
However, the Brazilian wanted an arguably tougher task in the unbeaten Magomedsharipov and believes his style would have made for a good matchup.
“I like his [Magomedsharipov] style. I think he is a big name, and I wanted to fight soon,” Moicano told BJPENN.com. “He is the only guy who [I] didn’t have a fight [with].
“I was trying to get a fight with Brian Ortega or Zabit Magomedsharipov and other guys. But UFC asked if I wanted Zombie and I said yes, I don’t turn down fights, I’ll fight anyone in the division. I will do my best to beat him.”
UFC Showed Interest
In the end, Moicano is not sure why the fight never came to fruition, especially as the UFC apparently showed interest in it.
“I really don’t know. I talked to my manager and said I want the biggest name I can get,” Moicano added. “Zabit is a big name but I don’t know what happened if he had an injury or turned it down. I really don’t know what happened.”
Regardless, Moicano is excited about the fight with Jung and believes it will only result in a standup war.
“I think it will be a good fight. He likes to move forward like me. I think it will be a standup battle over five rounds. I want that.”
As for Magomedsharipov, there is no news on who his next opponent will be. The Dagestan native most recently defeated Jeremy Stephens at UFC 235 in March.
One possible opponent could be former title challenger Brian Ortega who is now cleared to fight and is targeting a summer return.
