Lightweight contender Renato Moicano had big plans for his moment on the mic at UFC 311.
The Brazilian fan favorite earned his first shot at the UFC title on 36 hours' notice. Islam Makhachev was originally booked to defend his 155-pound belt against face Arman Tsarukyan, but the Armenian withdrew from the first UFC pay-per-view show of the year after suffering a back injury.
Makhachev defeated his late-replacement opponent in the first round to defend his title and pound-for-pound number one status in California on Saturday night.
Renato Moicano did a quick interview after the fight with Joe Rogan, but he didn't say everything he had in mind with an upset win.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Renato Moicano issues a statement on social media
On Sunday, Moicano took to social media to respond to falling short in his first UFC title fight.
He tweeted: “That sucks!!! For now, I just want to win my next fight! Thanks UFC for the opportunity! Thank you God for my life!”
'Money' followed that post with another detailing his pre-planned victory speech for UFC 311.
The 35-year-old, a big supporter of Bitcoin, wanted to dedicate his post-fight interview to cryptocurrency as a hedge against financial instability.
Moicano added: “I wish I had won yesterday, grabbed the mic and told you to read Murray Rothbard's What Has Government Done to Our Money!
“Why money should be a commodity with a floating price dictated by the free market! Why central banks are institutions that, instead of helping the economy, enslave new generations through debt!
“Interest Rate Control and Quantitative Easing Are Driving Global Economies Toward Collapse! This book explains how the government took over gold and turned it into this cursed fiat currency! And how have governments been doing this long before they were democratic: scraping gold coins, counterfeiting!
“The first step was to seize real money and check interest rates! We all know how the story ends: the US government with a virtually unpayable debt! History is written by the winners!
“Yesterday I lost and stayed quiet. But I'll be back to say what needs to be said!
“Last year I fought for money; From now on I fight for freedom! Study Bitcoin! #MMA #Bitcoin.”
Renato Moicano defeats Islam Makhachev at UFC 311
The California State Athletic Commission has released the official base bags for UFC 311.
These purses do not include sponsorships, bonuses beyond the standard win/show deals, and any back-end pay-per-view revenue.
However, only at the grassroots level did Moicano come out on top financially as a result of saving the main event.
He earned $250,000, while Makhachev only got $200,000, although the actual figures are likely to be very different.
Oddly enough, Makhachev was far from the highest paid fighter on the card. Several undercard competitors received more in their base salaries, as did bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili who pocketed $500,000 as a flat rate, as well as a $50,000 performance bonus.
Kevin Holland, who was submitted within one round and is now 1-4 in his last five fights, defeated Makhachev for $50,000. And despite not fighting ranked in the prelims, Grant Dawson also got $212,000 as part of a $106,000/$106,000 winning deal.
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