This past Saturday in the main event of UFC Paris, we saw a big time matchup in the lightweight division between two contenders who were looking to break into the top ten. The hometown hero Benoit Saint-Denis (13-3) was looking to bounce back as he took on Renato “Money” Moicano (20-5-1).
I really liked Benoit Saint-Denis in this matchup. I know he ultimately got knocked out by Dustin Poirier, but after his dominant finish streak and his dominant first round against Poirier, I was really high on him. While Moicano had won three in a row, I still wasn’t completely sold ahead of UFC Paris.
Well, consider me sold. Early in the first round, Moicano was able to take down Saint-Denis. Once the fight hit the mat, it was all Moicano. He seemed like the much stronger fighter and he just controlled BSD throughout the first round. However, it wasn’t just control.
Moicano sliced Saint-Denis open with big elbows and just dominant the whole first round. Easily a 10-8 round in my book. In the second round, Moicano and Saint-Denis had a much closer round where they were on the feet for the majority of the round. Moicano’s shoulder looked off entering the round and turns out, it was completely separated. Yet, he fought through it.
After the second round, the doctor came in to look at Saint-Denis. He had taken so much damage that his right eye was completely closed and it gave Moicano the TKO win at UFC Paris.
What’s next after UFC Paris?
I was shocked to see that Moicano didn’t move in the rankings after that win. He’s still ranked 11th on the outside of the top ten and that’s stunning considering back-to-back TKO wins over Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint-Denis. Moicano isn’t happy about his ranking, and I don’t blame him for being frustrated.
That said, he’s going to get a top ten opponent in his next fight. So, who should the UFC look at? Moicano against either Mateusz Gamrot or Beneil Dariush makes a lot of sense. While they’re both coming off losses, they are currently ranked eighth and seventh in the division.
That would give Moicano a nice opportunity to jump near the top five. Perhaps a returning Rafael Fiziev makes sense as well. Moicano seems to want to fight Dan Hooker, but I’m not sure that fight is going to happen. No matter what, “Money Moicano” should be fighting someone in the top ten next.