The co-main event of UFC Vegas 85 featured bangers from two of the most exciting lightweights in the UFC, Renato Moicano and Drew Dober.
Drew Dober is a well-known knockout artist, with nine of his 13 wins in the UFC coming by knockout. He has won three of his last four fights, all of which ended in KO. It looks like he’ll continue to keep his fire going after his first-round KO of Ricky Glenn in October.
Renato Moicano’s post-fight interview after his victory over Brad Liddell in November 2022 attracted the attention of many MMA fans, and his name became known to many people. Moicano also has three of his last four wins by finish, but all of his wins have been by submission. Moicano, like his opponents, has faced some of the toughest tests possible within the UFC philosophy.
The match is a classic tale of striker vs. grappler, but Moicano said before the match that he planned to stand up and punch Dober.
Summary of the battle
The match started out heatedly, with both players trying to end it quickly. Dober landed some wing hooks that caught the Brazilian’s attention early and led to an early takedown. Moicano tried to mix in short shots and submission attempts while playing in half guard. He seemed to prefer attacking the arm triangle, but his attempts were quickly defended by Dober and he never ran into much trouble.
After finding success wrestling in the first round, Moicano decided to quickly return to wrestling in the second round. He quickly put Dober on his back, and even though Dober got back to his feet, Moicano managed to get Dober back on his feet and keep him in place for most of the round. Dober got up with a minute left in the round and scored a takedown of his own, this time leaving Moicano bloodied. With blood pouring everywhere, Dober tried to pick his shots, but was ultimately forced to relax in full guard until the end of the round.
Dober did a great job of stuffing an early takedown on Moicano in the third round. His cracked right hand nearly hurt Moicano, but Dover persevered. A takedown attempt by Moicano was also successful, causing trouble for Dober. Moicano was happy to maintain full guard and take short shots, but the referee was not. He warned Moicano multiple times to act more aggressively or advance his position, urging the Brazilian to stand up and drop his bombs. Moicano moved up to half guard and survived the final moments from there.
The scorecard read 29-28 across the board for Renato “Money” Moicano. After the win, Moicano also gave a great post-fight interview, shouting out the 62-year-old father of a new child and being an MMA guru.
UFC fighters react to Renato Moicano winning money
What did you think of Moicano’s performance? Who would you like to see him fight next? Let us know in the comments below.
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