Ultimate Fighting Championship
On December 12, 2014, it was announced that Moicano signed with the UFC, [10] and was scheduled to replace Rony Jason against Tom Niinimäki on 10 days notice at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway. [11] He won the fight via rear naked choke submission in the second round. [12]
Moicano later was scheduled to fight Mirsad Bektic on May 30, 2015, at UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves, [13] but he was pulled from the bout due to injury and replaced by Lucas Martins. [14]
On March 14, 2016, it was announced that Moicano would face Zubaira Tukhugov at UFC 198. [15] for his second UFC appearance. He was the underdog to the fight but won via split decision. [16]
Moicano was expected to face Mike De La Torre on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95, [17] but was forced to pull out with injury and was replaced on short notice by Godofredo Pepey. [18]
For his third fight, Moicano faced Jeremy Stephens on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. [19] He won the fight by split decision. [20]
Moicano faced Brian Ortega on July 29, 2017, at UFC 214. [21] He lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the third round. [22] This fight earned Fight of the Night bonus. [23] After the fight with Ortega, Moicano moved from Brazil to United States in order to train at the American Top Team. [3]
Moicano faced Calvin Kattar on April 7, 2018, at UFC 223. [24] He won the fight by unanimous decision. [25]
Moicano faced Cub Swanson on August 4, 2018, at UFC 227. [26] He won the fight via a rear naked choke submission. [27] This win earned him the Performance of the Night award. [28]
Moicano was scheduled to face Mirsad Bektic on December 8, 2018, at UFC 231; however, it was reported on 15 November 2018 that Bektic was forced to pull out of the bout due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was cancelled. [29]
Moicano faced José Aldo on February 2, 2019, in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night 144. [30] He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. [31]
Moicano faced Chan Sung Jung on June 22, 2019, in the main event at UFC on ESPN+ 12. [32] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. [33]
Moicano faced Damir Hadžović in a lightweight bout on March 14, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 170. [34] He won the fight via a rear naked choke submission in round one. [35]
Moicano was scheduled to face Magomed Mustafaev on October 18, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 180. [36] However, Moicano pulled out of the fight in mid-September for undisclosed reasons. [37] Two weeks later, it was reported that Moicano was scheduled to face Rafael Fiziev on November 28, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Clark. [38] In turn, Moicano pulled out on November 28 after testing positive for COVID-19 and the bout was rescheduled for UFC 256. [39] He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. [40]
Moicano faced Jai Herbert on June 26, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 190. [41] He won the fight via a rear naked choke in round two. [42]
Moicano faced Alexander Hernandez on February 12, 2022, at UFC 271. [43] He won the bout via rear naked choke in the second round. [44]
Moicano was tabbed as a short notice replacement for Rafael Fiziev and faced Rafael dos Anjos on March 5, 2022, at UFC 272. The bout was contested at a catchweight of 160 pounds. [45] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. [46]
Moicano faced Brad Riddell on November 12, 2022, at UFC 281. [47] He won the bout via a rear naked choke in the first round. [48]
Moicano was scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan on April 29, 2023, at UFC on ESPN: Song vs. Simón. [49] However, Moicano withdrew due to an injury. [50]
Moicano faced Drew Dober on February 3, 2024, at UFC Fight Night 235. [51] Despite having his face cut open in the second round, Moicano had a significant amount of top-position control time which helped him win the bout by unanimous decision. [52]
Moicano faced Jalin Turner on April 13, 2024, at UFC 300. [53] After being knocked down at the end of the first round, Moicano rallied back and won the bout by technical knockout as a result of ground-and-pound. [54]
