UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett had many negative things to say to Renato Moicano after his loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 311.
The tournament was Moicano’s first title challenge but he was unable to defeat the champ as he suffered a loss after a submission due to being put in a D’arce choke. Although the fighter was called on short notice to replace Arman Tsarukyan, fighters like Pimblett believe the fighter should have done better instead of tapping out in the first round. The Brit said Moicano should have gone to sleep instead of tapping out in the opening round.
Some, like veteran fighter Matt Brown, believe Pimblett is wrong and Moicano gains nothing from being put to sleep. The jiu-jitsu expert says Pimblett is wrong in his assesment and feels he may be seeking attention from the fighter.
“Going to sleep doesn’t prove anything.” Brown says speaking on The Fighter vs The Writer podcast. “You know when it’s over. We all do jiu-jitsu all the time. We know when we’re caught and we know the end is inevitable. There’s no more escaping. You tap or go to sleep. Just tap. There’s no shame in it. You got caught. That’s it.”
“It doesn’t prove anything,” Brown said. “In training, specifically, you’re training to not get in a submission. Not how long can your joints last in a submission so you tap out. It’s just silly. Again, I think it’s just Paddy trying to get out there in the news and him being himself and maybe trying to start some shit with Moicano because he wants that fight, which is fine.”
“But Paddy knows as well as anyone, when you’re caught, you’re caught and you can tap or go to sleep. Nothing’s going to be better because you went to sleep. No one’s going to respect you more. You’re not going to get a bonus on your paycheck. There’s literally not a single thing that’s going to come out of you going to sleep that you wouldn’t get out of tapping.”
Brown is a coach for athletes and is an expert in the fundamentals of MMA so he fully understands the implications of most moves. He feels Moicano understands where he went wrong during the fight and hopes he fixes up, but he says Pimblett criticism is pretty pointless and believes the fighter may be doing it to get some attention.
“I’m betting it’s just Paddy trying to talk and be in the news and get his voice out there and just say things,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Because he’s a jiu-jitsu guy. He knows very well when he is caught and when it’s over. You start seeing the tunnel close is what happens when you almost go to sleep. What’s the point at this point?
“They are similar fighters,” Brown said about Moicano moving from Beneil Dariush to Makhachev. “Your training camp would not be totally different. Maybe you do more wrestling with Islam. I think that would be about the only difference. It probably wouldn’t have helped. Islam is that guy. He looked phenomenal.”
It seems Pimblett’s talk might be working on Moicano as the fighter responded to “The Baddy” and has asked for a chance to face him in the octagon. It’s a matchup that has had a buildup and may come to fruition due to Moicano’s loss to Makhachev. Although Brown disagrees with Pimblett’s comment, he is fine with the matchup between the two.
“I think it’s him just talking,” Brown said about Pimblett. “Just trying to keep his name out in the news or make a post with a lot of likes or whatever. I’d like to see Paddy and Moicano fight. I think that’s a solid matchup to make at this point.”
