Renato Moicano’s passionate post-fight speech at UFC 271 earlier this year saying he “wants money” didn’t lead to the $50,000 performance bonus he was hoping for after choking out Alexander Hernandez in Texas. However, he won’t be turning on UFC to do that.
The American Top Team’s athlete, Rafael dos Anjos, was offered the chance to take on Rafael dos Anjos a little over a month after the first round. However, he lost a five-round match to his Brazilian counterpart on very short notice. Moicano knows he risked a few brain cells in that 25-minute war, but would do it all over again.
“I began to understand that every fight I have is an investment,” Moicano said on this week’s Trocacao Franca ahead of his UFC 281 bout with Brad Riddell in New York. “The same way that a man invests in stocks or funds, I’m investing with money.
“If I am literally investing my blood and life, or my brain and getting punched in my face, then I need to be paid. .”
The son of a public servant in Brasilia, Moicano said that his father’s job stability led to him never being taught finances at home. As an MMA fighter — a job that only gets you paid when you do enter a ring or cage to compete — Moicano realized he had to be smart in handling his money for his post-career life.
” My financial life was built before [that UFC 271 interview],, so there is money coming in when I retire,” Moicano stated. It’s time for me to start collecting now. I want to win and fight, win new contracts, and make more money, so that I won’t worry about investing my whole life in sports without any financial return .”
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Competing in MMA since 2010 and having beaten the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Calvin Kattar and Cub Swanson in 13 octagon appearances over nearly eight years, the Brazilian says he hasn’t changed his end line due to fear of those brain cells lost along the way.
“That’s what’s funny about it,” Moicano said. “Money is crucial, money is something we invented and humankind will never be able to free itself from it because it’s how we make exchanges, that’s how we produce and make our lives better, but money is as crucial as it is expendable because I would do everything I do for free. The two things in life are finding something you’d do for free and be well-paid for it.
” That’s why it’s so special to me. You’ll never see me complaining about the UFC or how much I’m paid because that doesn’t matter. Everyone has their struggles. It’s time to get down on my knees and thank God for what I do and how much I am paid. As I said, I need to be compensated because I am one of the most respected people in the world. I also have to pay for my own health.
” It sounds confusing, contradictory, or makes no sense. It would be a great job, but it is not something I could do for nothing. I am well-paid to do what I love. This is how I feel .”
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Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/11/12/23451718/do-it-for-free-but-well-paid-renato-moicano-ambiguous-approach-fighting-career-ufc?rand=96749
