Renato Moicano wants to see the back of MMA when his contract with the UFC has been completed.

Ahead of his fight at UFC Vegas 123 this past Saturday, Renato Moicano claimed he would like to test free agency once he has fought the final three fights of his current UFC deal.

Moicano went on to lose in extremely controversial fashion against Tom Nolan, after referee Dan Miragliotta stood him up when he was on Nolan’s back threatening a choke, leading to him being knocked out.

And after what was such a disappointing and controversial loss, the popular Brazilian is ready to put MMA behind him, claiming he is done with the sport after his loss.

Moicano wants to move into influencer boxing after UFC contract is up

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show this Monday evening, the 37-year-old admitted that after the disappointment of Saturday night’s result, he is ready to put MMA behind him, and he would like to pursue a career in influencer boxing instead. “I have three more fights, I want to finish my contract and once I finish my contract, I don’t want to fight in MMA anymore.

“I want to do boxing, like influencer boxing, I want to beat up people who don’t know how to fight like on Adin Ross’ show, you know? If they pay me half a million dollars to box, I would… Some Brazilian shows, you can get paid a lot,” Moicano continued. Over the past few years, the market for influencer boxing has become extremely popular, and promotions like Misfits boxing are benefitting from the demand.

“I don’t wanna be like Tony Ferguson. Eight fights, trying to be a champion, 40 years old on a six-fight losing streak, I don’t want that,” Moicano continued. Despite Moicano’s assessment of Tony Ferguson, the former UFC interim champion has found a lot of success in the world of influencer boxing since his UFC exit, winning all three of his boxing fights, becoming the Misfits middleweight champion.

Ultimately, Moicano is of similar name-value to ‘El Cucuy’ and would likely command a big fee to be included in an influencer boxing event. And although Ferguson’s earnings in influencer boxing are undisclosed, Sportster estimated that his base purse ranged from anywhere between $200,000-$500,000.

“Sometimes you have to realise when you’re done… For me it’s these (last three fights)… After the UFC, I don’t want to be with other (MMA) promotions because let’s be honest, the UFC is MMA… I think after these three I’m done because the (UFC) are not gonna pay me enough,” Moicano added.

The UFC’s pay model has continued to be criticized over this past year, and after losing his fight this weekend, Moicano missed out on half of his pay. And according to the Brazilian, he could fight in influencer boxing for higher pay, while fighting opponents who are considerably less experienced than him, making for an easier end to his career.