“I want easy money! Paddy Pimblett easy money, Dan Hooker easy money! Don’t come up with bu—-it fights,” Renato Moicano blasted after his UFC Paris win over Benoit Saint-Denis. You know the Brazilian contender’s drill! No tough opponents, no lingering uncertainty, just easy fights to rake in that sweet cash. But what happened at UFC 311 just a few months later was the real-life equivalent of going up against the final boss instead of the ‘easy money’ schedule Moicano expected to follow.

On the dramatic night of 19 January 2025, Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of his lightweight title main event at the last minute due to a back injury, thrusting Moicano—originally slated to fight Beneil Dariush on the main card—into a high-stakes clash with Islam Makhachev in the main event. Despite being finished in the first round, Moicano earned the MMA world’s respect for taking the fight on short notice—and reportedly walked away with a hefty paycheck with reported base earnings of nearly 250k dollars and the total payout reportedly exceeding 950k.

But how much did Renato Moicano really make for stepping up against Makhachev? That question has lingered in fans’ minds for months. We know the story! Now, as June approaches, Moicano is set to face Dariush at UFC 317. But this time, the stakes are higher—and he can’t afford another loss. While having a conversation with Home of Fight, Moicano was asked about his preparedness for the Dariush fight, to which the Brazilian emphasized, “Easy money, my brother. I’m going over that — pull him to the ground, finishingly. Easy money.”

When asked whether, now that he owns a gym and has money flowing into his bank account, he can afford to lose against Beneil Dariush, Moicano stated, “Still No. Unlike I said last fight, I could afford to lose due to short notice, and I got a flat purse. But now, I got to fight back to my double cheques. I’m not fuc—g losing.”

Regarding his UFC 311 payout, Moicano explained what happened that night: “Somebody told me that after Arman pulled out, they sold even more Pay-Per-Views, because everybody was excited about the late-notice change of opponent. You don’t see that many times [in the UFC]. I got a nice cheque — higher or lower [amount based on Bitcoin].”

If we once again take Moicano’s cryptic comments at face value, it appears the Brazilian earned nearly $950,000 for his fight against Islam Makhachev — a considerable sum given his current star power. Despite the hefty paycheck, Moicano expressed frustration that most of it went straight to the taxman. “Man, f— California brother – if you live in California, I feel for you brother. That state is a piece of s—-, brother, I think California is worse [than New York] … The taxation was crazy, crazy.”

Moicano could afford a loss in his battle against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, but the stakes are entirely different at UFC 317. The Brazilian is ready to perform — but what about Beneil Dariush? Let’s find out!

“Kind of stale,” said Beneil Dariush about his training for UFC 317 bout vs. Renato Moicano

“You get kind of stale on it. I’ve got to freshen up on all the homework I was doing. … I don’t really look at it as unfinished business,” said Beneil Dariush about his fight against Renato Moicano. Why? Well, that’s because the American fighter has been preparing for the same opponent for over half a year now. As mentioned earlier, Moicano and Dariush were originally scheduled to fight at UFC 311, but due to the aforementioned circumstances, the bout was canceled.

To put it into perspective, Dariush may have been training for Moicano since August of last year. Although Dariush did not get to fight in Inglewood, he received his full purse at UFC 311. However, he understood that the UFC had to act urgently to save the card. Talking about his upcoming fight at UFC 317, Dariush stated, “I could be maybe two fights away. If I have a good performance now, I beat a top-five guy, then I beat a top-five guy, I’m in title contention. You never know. Sometimes, one fight might be enough. It might take three. It will probably take two more fights to be honest with you.”

Looking at a potential title run, the 22-6-1 fighter will embrace the stage with an intent to take down the Brazilian, but will he be able to navigate his way across Moicano, or will it be another defeat for him? Well, we have to wait for the fateful day to get the answer. Given that, what are your thoughts on the hubbub? State your opinion in the comments below.