Tom Nolan tried kindness at UFC Vegas 123 media day. Renato Moicano threw it back at him. Shortly after Nolan described his headlining opponent as a legend and a childhood hero, Moicano took the stage, got asked about the praise, and told the 26-year-old in very colorful language that he planned to beat him up, MMA Mania reported. Then came the line that summed up his whole week. “I don’t want compliments,” Moicano said. “I want money.”
Nolan had been about as warm as a guy can be about someone he’s paid to fight. “Fighting a legend and a hero of mine growing up is a cool thing,” he said. “He’s one of the heroes for sure.” The clip of Moicano’s response took off on X after the Spinnin Backfist account posted it, which surprised exactly nobody who has watched Moicano hold a microphone.
The two meet Saturday, October 31, inside the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Moicano was never supposed to be here. He was booked against Brian Ortega at UFC 331 in September, but Ortega got hurt, and the matchmakers slid Moicano onto the Halloween card against Nolan, a tough prospect without much name value yet. Moicano insists the swap made his job harder. “I believe everybody can agree with that that Tom Nolan is more dangerous than Ortega,” he said, adding that Ortega was the bigger name but a win over Nolan would look better on his resume. The Times of India ran his assessment of the matchup under an even blunter quote: “I’m better than him everywhere.”
The Numbers
The oddsmakers don’t fully buy that. Books have it as a pick ‘em. Nolan has lost once in 12 professional fights, and he’s 11 years younger than the 37-year-old Brazilian. Moicano’s edge is mileage. Saturday will be his 30th pro fight, and his most recent outing went well: he submitted Scotland’s Chris Duncan in a lightweight bout at the Meta Apex on April 4, 2026.
There’s a business layer under all the cursing, too. Moicano has talked openly about testing free agency once the last three fights on his UFC contract are done, and he made clear the purse structure is front of mind this week. “I need to win otherwise I just get paid half,” he said. His plan beyond Saturday is simple enough. “I want to beat Tom Nolan, keep going, get a high-profile opponent, and like I say, I want to see what is next for me.”
I love this from Moicano, honestly. A guy approaching the end of a contract, staring at a coin-flip fight against someone more than a decade younger, has every reason to be blunt about the paycheck, and he says out loud what most fighters only say to their managers. Nolan’s respect was genuine and kind of sweet. It also won’t count for a thing once the cage door shuts. If Nolan wants a hero to stop treating him like a stranger, his path runs through a 37-year-old who just told the whole press room he can’t afford to lose on Halloween night.
