Renato Moicano brokenhearted after UFC 311 loss: ‘Spent my whole life for this moment and I tapped in the first round’

Renato Moicano only had 24 hours to actually prepare for a fight against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 but he was still dejected by his performance.

Despite taking the short notice opportunity to step into the main event after his teammate Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury that prevented him from competing, the 35-year-old Brazilian ultimately didn’t make it out of the first round after he tapped out from a D’arce choke applied by Makhachev.

While he really has nothing to be ashamed about, Moicano admitted that he blew his shot at becoming champion and perhaps the hardest part to reconcile in his mind is that he may not get another chance.

“That wasn’t a one day notice. That was a life notice,” Moicano said about taking the fight during his post-fight interview with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. “I’m very sad.

“I spent my whole life for this moment and I tapped in the first round. Islam was much better than [me] today. I had so much to say but that’s not the right time. I’m not done. I don’t know if I will ever get a chance like that again but I will try my best to do it.”

The submission loss stopped Moicano’s four fight win streak, which included stoppage victories over Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint Denis in his past two appearances in the octagon.

While he undoubtedly remains a top 15 ranked lightweight even after falling at UFC 311, Moicano obviously understands that at 35 the clock was already ticking on him getting into title contention.

A huge part of his fight week message even prior to the title bout was that he doesn’t have time to fool around because age is the ultimate enemy for any high-level athlete.

Now after suffering the loss to Makhachev on Saturday, Moicano doesn’t know if he’ll ever get another opportunity like that again but he’s certainly willing to try.