On Saturday night, Brazil's Renato 'Money' Moicano fought Benoit St. Denis, in front of the latter's home crowd, and defied the odds by coming through with an early finish. Moicano almost dispatched 'BSD' in the first round with ground-and-pound which left the Frenchman bloody, down 10-8 on the cards, and looking completely beaten.
However, the eleventh-ranked lightweight contender Renato Moicano sat on his lead in round two, declining to insist on getting the fight to the mat. The entire viewing audience speculated as to why, when 'Money' Moicano almost finished #12 Benoit St. Denis in the first round, did he not press the advantage in the following one?
Well, that question has perhaps been answered. Mixed martial arts reporter Kevin Iole received pictures from Moicano's team – Renato trains largely with the Brazilian contingent at American Top Team – which show a gruesome, but bloodless, injury. Moicano's shoulder must have popped out of the socket or been broken sometime near the end of the first round, as he apparently fought the entire second round with it crippled.
Incredible toughness! @mocainoufc fought second round of fight with severely damaged shoulder #ufcparis pic.twitter.com/DyyjUOmbTS
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) September 29, 2024
The pictures also show an X-Ray with the athlete’s full name – Renato Carniero Moicano – on it. The X-Ray shows the bone between the shoulder and base of the neck sticking up at about a twenty-degree angle above where it is supposed to be. The bone is connected to the base of the neck; it is no longer attached to the shoulder in the image.
This definitively explains why Moicano was so risk-averse in round two. At the time the fight ended it seemed as though St. Denis was the lucky one to avoid getting battered more, but now who knows what would have happened?
The stoppage was still the right call, but one never knows what would have happened in a battle of a man with one eye vs one with one arm had the referee ignored the rules and allowed Benoit St. Denis to continue fighting.
Fighters are known for their toughness, but both St. Denis and Moicano have singular performances which made fans realize just how much heart they truly possess. Moicano's five-round loss to former champion Rafael Dos Anjos on one week's notice not only led to him taking on the moniker 'Money Moicano,' but showed that he refuses to quit, even when badly beaten, battered, and bruised. Similarly, the fight before this, Moicano was dropped in the early going. Jalin Turner even assumed he was unconscious and turned to walk away, leaving just enough room for Renato to recover. His comeback involved taking down the 6'3" knockout artist, tiring him out, and finishing him in the final minute of the second round.
As for Benoit, his UFC debut came one weight class above his usual lightweight; he fought longtime UFC veteran and capoeirista Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos at welterweight in Abu Dhabi. The Frenchman was battered for three rounds in one of the most shocking and infamous referee displays in recent promotional memory, as the fight should have been stopped within the first minute or so of the second round. However, it was allowed to go the full, fifteen minute distance and Benoit St. Denis somehow survived the full way. He began his UFC career 0-1, but he earned fans' respect that night. Despite losing tonight, he has a lot to be proud about for coming so far to headline in his home capital of Paris.
It is pretty clear that the insanity of mixed martial artists, especially these two, is such that they would continue fighting if they were given the opportunity, no matter what broken limbs or eyes swelled shut they had. That kind of mentality is what is required to step in a cage with another human and try to put one another asleep.
