Renato Moicano consoled by Ariel Helwani over his anger about UFC lightweight division rankings: "Pretty sure they are run by bots"
Renato Moicano did not seem elated about his lack of upward mobility in the UFC rankings, while Ariel Helwani was there to encourage the surging fighter. Despite coming off of an impressive main event victory in the octagon on Sept. 28, the charismatic combatant did not budge from his No. 11 spot after stopping the No. 12-ranked contender at 155 pounds.
The only change to the UFC lightweight division rankings in this most recent update is Max Holloway dropping one spot to become slated as the No. 10 contender in that division. Moicano had already taken to social media to indicate his discontentment over the taxes in France after his UFC Paris victory. However, he recently took to X again and spoke about the lack of movement within his division's hierarchy.
Taking time to also reference the French President, Emmanuel Macron, Moicano said:
"That's the first time I see somebody destroy their opponent and don't get up on the rankings... I guess MMA journalists love [Emmanuel] Macron too #ufc #mma."
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani responded to Moicano, saying:
"Forget the rankings, Renato. Pretty sure they are run by bots. And the 8th ranked light heavyweight is fighting for the belt on Saturday. They mean nothing. You're the uncrowned people's champ."
Check out Ariel Helwani's response to Renato Moicano below:
Renato Moicano and his recent UFC success
Renato Moicano certainly has a case to move higher in the weight category considering the respective arcs of those ranked above him. His second-round doctor's stoppage of Benoit Saint-Denis marked back-to-back stoppages after halting No. 14-ranked contender Jalin Turner at that juncture of their UFC 300 contest in April.
The 35-year-old now has a four-fight win streak in MMA and he has more momentum than several above him. Even though Max Holloway had an incredible finish over No. 3-ranked-ranked Justin Gaethje, he's fighting for the featherweight title at month's end.
Rafael Fiziev, Mateusz Gamrot, Beneil Dariush, and Michael Chandler who are in the nine to six spots, respectively, all need to get back to the win column. Also of note, the No. 6-ranked lightweight Michael Chandler has not fought in close to two years although he will soon return to rematch the No. 2-ranked Charles Oliveira.
The Brazilian fighter has perhaps the most momentum of his career despite the lack of rankings movement. Many in the MMA world are presumably excited about what could be next for Moicano.