Renato Moicano Plans to Test Free Agency After Finishing UFC Deal

Renato Moicano has put a number on the road between Saturday's main event and the open market: three fights.

The 37-year-old lightweight told MMA Fighting that three bouts remain on his UFC contract, including his UFC Vegas 123 headliner against Tom Nolan on October 31. Moicano intends to complete the deal before deciding whether to re-sign, pursue another combat-sports opportunity, or put more time into the businesses he has built outside the cage.

"I want to fight this deal out for sure," Moicano told MMA Fighting. "I want to do the whole thing and then let's see what happens. I would like to be a free agent, too. ... Just to see what it's like."

Moicano has announced no retirement and confirmed no departure from the UFC. He is keeping his options open rather than committing the next stage of his career before he knows what the market will pay.

The money has to make sense

Moicano said his decision will depend on how he feels after the next fights and what he is earning. He also pointed to his YouTube channel, gym, work managing fighters in Brazil and a December 5 MMA event as possible pieces of life after, or alongside, fighting.

His leverage could look very different by the time the contract expires. A win over Nolan would give Moicano two straight victories and another successful UFC main event. A loss would hand momentum to a 26-year-old contender on a five-fight winning streak. That makes Saturday more than the first date on a contract countdown. It can change the value of the remaining two.

There is also no need to pretend free agency guarantees a better deal. Moicano would first have to finish the contract healthy, stay relevant in a crowded lightweight division and find an offer worth leaving the UFC for. At 37, waiting carries its own cost. His popularity in Brazil and blunt, often funny public persona give him options that many fighters do not have, but the next three results still matter.

Nolan comes first

The UFC's official preview confirms Moicano and Nolan will headline Saturday's card at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Moicano enters after submitting Chris Duncan in the second round in April, a badly needed rebound from consecutive losses to Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush.

Nolan is taking his first UFC main event after five straight wins. The Australian most recently beat Fares Ziam by unanimous decision, and his run also includes first-round finishes of Charlie Campbell and Victor Martinez. He is younger, taller and arriving with far less to lose. Moicano has the deeper five-round experience and the more dangerous submission game, but this is an awkward assignment for a veteran trying to improve his negotiating position.

Moicano also told MMA Fighting that the UFC offered him a third attempt at a rematch with Brian Ortega after two bookings fell apart this year. He declined and accepted Nolan instead. His wife is expecting twins in December, he said, and another delayed fight could have kept him out much longer.

His reason was practical. Fighters do not negotiate in a vacuum. Moicano wants to fight now, get paid now and avoid losing more time to a matchup he no longer trusts to happen. Nolan was available, dangerous and willing.

Moicano wants to know what he is worth, but he still has to reach the open market. His next three results will decide how much leverage he carries if he gets there. The first test comes Saturday.