The UFC’s return to Madison Square Garden continues to fill up with notable names.
A lightweight bout between Renato Moicano (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) and Brad Riddell (10-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is the most recent addition to UFC 281, the Nov. 12 pay-per-view event in New York.
Moicano announced the news Thursday in a Twitter Space with MMA Junkie, which subsequently confirmed the news with a second person with knowledge of the situation. That person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Moicano has split his appearances so far in 2022. After a submission win against Alexander Hernandez in February, he turned around and took a short-notice fight against former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos less than one month later. The fight was five rounds. Moicano absorbed a ton of punishment but hung in the fight through the final bell. He ultimately lost a unanimous decision.
Riddell looks to bounce back after back-to-back finish losses to Rafael Fiziev and Jalin Turner. The two-fight skid comes on the heels of a seven-fight winning streak that included victories over Drew Dober, Jamie Mullarkey, and Magomed Mustafaev, among others.
With the addition, the UFC 281 lineup includes:
- Champion Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira – for middleweight title
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Molly McCann
- Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
- Seungwoo Choi vs. Mike Trizano
- Renato Moicano vs. Brad Riddell
