How impulsive can Renato Moicano be? Well, fans know the Brazilian can get unhinged during his post-fight speeches after a win. But beyond being reckless on the mic, there was a time when the former lightweight title challenger got so angry at a UFC legend that he nearly booked a flight just to sucker-punch him. But why?

After his stellar victory against Chris Duncan at UFC Vegas 115, Moicano revealed that he used to hate two UFC personalities: Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen. While the Brazilian’s dislike for the Irishman was clear, he further admitted that he once considered flying out to a UFC event just to sucker-punch ‘The Bad Guy’ because he talked so much “s–t” about Brazilian fighters in his prime days.

“I used to hate Conor McGregor. Let me tell you one thing about Conor McGregor. Two guys that everybody in Brazil hates: Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen. Let me tell you something: when I was 15 or 16, I looked up to Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo, all these guys. Then he (Chael) was talking so much s–t about Anderson Silva, Wanderlei, Minotauro, that I thought of buying a flight ticket to go to a UFC event just to sucker-punch Chael Sonnen.”

To be fair, for a proud Brazilian like Moicano, feeling that way about Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor seems completely natural. The former middleweight title challenger called the country’s most celebrated champion Anderson Silva “absolutely suck” ahead of their first fight at UFC 117. Then, Sonnen doubled down on roasting ‘The Spider’ before their rematch at UFC 148, calling him a ‘phony.’

However, ‘The American Gangster’ didn’t stop at Silva alone. He also went on to diss other fighters, such as the Nogueira brothers, with one of his most notorious insults about them “feeding a carrot to a bus.” After Sonnen, the promotion’s most decorated superstar, Conor McGregor, also famously insulted Brazil ahead of his first title fight against Jose Aldo at UFC 194, when he threatened to “invade favelas on horseback” during the Brazil press conference. 

Now, after following both of their journeys with a different lens, Moicano, who once hated both of them, has developed an admiration for the two superstars for their mic skills.

“I’m telling you, I swear to you, if I saw him in the streets back in the day… And now I see him, and I’m like, this guy is a f—g genius because, you know how smart you have to be for a 16-year-old to want to punch you just because of your mic skills,” he added.

Well, Moicano pointed out two superstars he used to hate because they dissed his home country to promote their fights. But he seems to have missed another UFC star who did the same. It’s none other than Colby Covington, who called the Brazilian audience “F—y animals” after beating Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 119 in Sao Paulo. 

After opening up about fighters he once disliked, Moicano went on to call out another UFC fighter he holds a similar dislike for, but for a different reason. 

Renato Moicano calls out Brian Ortega after UFC Vegas 115 victory

Renato Moicano’s submission victory over Chris Duncan was definitely impressive. But it didn’t naturally answer the question: who’s next for him? The Brazilian definitely has some solid challenges in the 155 lbs rankings. Yet, he demanded a recognizable name during his post-fight interview.

The fact that Moicano didn’t take a name initially confused fans for a while, but he eventually called out Brian Ortega, which made it clear what the Brazilian wants next.

“There is one motherf—r I have bad blood (with),” Moicano said on the Paramount+ post-fight show. “His name is Ortega. Brian Ortega, man, he ran the first time. I was beating him the first time. He got me. Fair enough. It was my first defeat. But now I want revenge. I want his head. I want his head. I want to kill this motherf—r.”

For the unaware, Moicano first faced Ortega at UFC 214 in July, where ‘T-City’ submitted him with a guillotine choke. After that loss, the two never met again inside the Octagon, as the Brazilian moved from the 145 lbs to the 155 lbs division. However, they did have a chance to face each other at UFC 326, but an injury ruled Ortega out of that matchup. So, there’s definitely some history behind this potential clash.

That said, what do you think should be Moicano’s next fight after his UFC Vegas 115 win? Let us know in the comments section below.