Renato Moicano thinks Muhamad Mokaev would have generated more buzz as a UFC title challenger than Steve Erceg.
Despite having more experience in the Octagon, Mokaev will headline Saturday's UFC 301 (pay-per-view/ESPN/ESPN+) at the Rio Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Moicano, who is a good friend and teammate of Pantoja on American Top Team, believes Erceg isn't a big enough name to draw viewers, even though he's only been in the UFC for a year.
“I'm friends with Pantoja,” Moicano said on the “MIGHTYcast” podcast with Demetrius Johnson. “He's my son. I like him very much. He's a hard worker, a dedicated guy, he goes to the gym all the time, but I didn't like this fight at all. This guy (Elceg) ), a dangerous guy, but only three fights in the UFC. No one knows who he is. He's not going to sell pay-per-views. I think Pantoja wanted to fight in Brazil. Because Brazil is his homeland, right?
“But I don't think it was very smart on the business side. People don't understand that this is a business, right? You have to create a story behind the fight. Like Jorge Masvidal or Colby Covington. The UFC profited from it, and they profited from it. Once you see Pantoja fighting a guy no one knows, it's a show. In my book, Pantoja is better than him everywhere.”
Erceg and Mokaev (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) both most recently fought at UFC Fight Night 238 in March. Erceg KO'd Matt Schnell and Mokaev defeated former title challenger Alex Perez. Although Erceg had the more exciting performance, Moicano believes Mokaev vs. Pantoja is the bigger fight.
“I'm not really excited to watch the game,” Moicano said. “I would like to see a fight between Pantoja and Mokaev. I know a lot of people are giving him garbage because Mokaev had a tough fight against Perez, but I think he would sell the fight more.”
For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 301 event hub.
The story originally appeared on MMA Junkie
