LAS VEGAS – Renato Moicano is unfazed having to fight a teammate Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 272 headliner.
Saturday at Meta APEX, Moicano (20-7-1 MMA,12-7 UFC) fights fellow American Top Teamer Chris Duncan in a five-round lightweight fight. The two have trained together over the years and even shared the sauna a few times during the build to this fight.
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“Not really because that was such a long time ago,” Moicano told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday when asked about whether past training will impact the fight. “I have not really trained with him for a long time. I watch his fights in the UFC. He got way better in the grappling. So I’m not disrespecting him at all. I’m not thinking this is going to be easy. It’s UFC. Every fight is a challenge. I think Chris Duncan is a challenge.”
While he didn’t shy away, Moicano said the matchup is not ideal for ATT, but the gym recognizes in certain instances it’s unavoidable. It’s not a new problem for one of the world’s most premier training teams.
“I think the gym, they always try to avoid the situation,” Moicano said. “I think (owner) Dan Lambert and the other coaches, they want to avoid this as much as possible. It’s not good, people from the gym fighting. That’s not the best scenario. But sometimes, you have to do that because you don’t have any option in the career mode. I’ve been one year out and they give me this opportunity for the main event. At the same time, Chris Duncan wants to be in the rankings. I think it was beneficial for everybody, but not for the gym. To the fighters, I say, ‘You don’t want to fight another guy from your gym, but that could happen.’ We never know. We never know. At ATT, we have (Kyoji) Horiguchi and (Alexandre) Pantoja. I think they are the best at 125. Eventually, they are going to fight each other. It is what it is. Of course, it’s not the same situation between me and Duncan, but it is what it is. Sometimes you have to fight your teammates.”
Moicano, 36, has lost back-to-back fights against Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush. The bout against the rising Duncan (15-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) could be a chance to prove to the UFC that he still deserves the creme de la crop and that he’s not regressing.
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“It’s never good to lose,” Moicano said. “It’s f*cking terrible. But it’s so good when you win, I want to get that feeling of winning again, especially in the main event. One-hundred percent that adds pressure.”
The one thing Moicano usually loves more than winning is the money that comes with it. Competing for the first time since the UFC’s performance bonuses were increased, Moicano admits that with his recent stumbles, however, winning might be the main focus.
“$100,000 is going to be beneficial,” Moicano said. “It’s going to be good. But at the same time, I feel like I have to win. I’m not thinking too much about the bonus. I’m thinking about the win.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Renato Moicano admits at UFC Vegas 115 there’s something more important than money
