Moicano’s best has been on display against Riddell, and in wins over Damir Hadzovic, Jai Herbert and Alexander Hernandez. Even in a March loss to former world champion Rafael Dos Anjos, Moicano showed the heart and grit of a champion, something made even more notable by the fact that he took the bout on four days’ notice and still went the five-round main event distance. As for the fight itself, Moicano was still hoping to pull a miracle out of the hat late, even as it was slipping away. His emotions?
“I was mad and I wanted to take his head off,” he said. “In the fifth round, I thought, man, this is not fair. I didn’t want a five-round fight because I was not training, and I knew it would be hard for me. So, in the fourth and the fifth I was thinking I’m gonna reach this guy in the fifth round, but I didn’t have the training – the grappling, the scrambles, the cardio – so it was really hard for me and I was really tired, but I was trying my best because I could not look in the mirror if I just gave up. So even though I lost, I never gave up. I was mad with myself, with everything, because I knew I was taking a beating and nobody likes that, but I cannot give up, and I’m gonna try to beat you with everything, and that’s what I did in the last round. I wish I had a little bit more time to train, like two or three weeks, and I would present myself even better. But I don’t think of this anymore because it’s in the past and people see my performances at lightweight. I have three finishes at lightweight, I lost a short notice fight against a former champion in a five-round fight I took on four days (notice), so the real fans know how good I am and now I am looking to the future.”
If we are looking back for a moment, it’s funny to point out that of his recent opponents, Hernandez is moving to 145 pounds, Dos Anjos is fighting next week at 170, and Riddell is taking an extended break from the sport. What is Moicano doing to these guys?