HOUSTON – Renato Moicano continues to build a quality resume since he moved to lightweight.
On Saturday’s UFC 271 pay-per-view main card at Toyota Center, Moicano (16-4-1 MMA, 8-4 UFC) defeated Alexander Hernandez (13-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC) via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:23 of Round 1.
In the first round, the two fighters implemented seemingly opposite gameplans. For Hernandez, he found success on the feet early. A loud body kick then changed Moicano’s flow completely. The Brazilian fighter briefly took the fight to the canvas but wasn’t able to do much with it.
Toward the end of Round 1, Moicano found more success on the feet – a momentum he carried into Round 2. Early in the second, Moicano crumpled Hernandez with a vicious combination. Hernandez tried to hold on but was bowled over with Moicano on top.
Once on the mat, Moicano worked his ground-and-pound and took the back. Before long, he snuck his arm under Hernandez’s chin and got the tap.
After the fight, Moicano apologized for not shaking Hernandez’s hand at weigh-ins and indicated it was not intentional. He also cut an enthusiastic promo and called for a post-fight bonus. The crowd bought into it and gave him a loud applause.
With the win, Moicano has won three of four fights since he moved to lightweight with victories over Damir Hadzovic and Jai Herbert, in addition to Hernandez.
UFC 271 took place Saturday at Toyota Center.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 271 results include:
- Renato Moicano def. Alexander Hernandez via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:23
- Bobby Green def. Nasrat Haqparast via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Andrei Arlovski def. Jared Vanderaa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Casey O’Neill def. Roxanne Modafferi via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Kyler Phillips def. Marcelo Rojo via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 1:48
- Carlos Ulberg def. Fabio Cherant via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Ronnie Lawrence def. Mana Martinez via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Jacob Malkoun def. AJ Dobson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Douglas Silva de Andrade def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:34
- Jeremiah Wells def. Blood Diamond via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:38
- Maxim Grishin def. William Knight via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
