Moicano Backs Tsarukyan as Next Champ — But Wants Gaethje vs. Volkanovski

Renato Moicano thinks Arman Tsarukyan is the best 155-pounder on the planet right now. He also thinks Justin Gaethje should do everything he can to avoid him. Ahead of his UFC Vegas 123 headliner against Tom Nolan on Saturday at the Meta APEX, Moicano laid out the lightweight math: the No. 2-ranked Tsarukyan is 24-3 with six submissions and ten knockouts, and he's riding a finish of Mauricio Ruffy that Moicano rates among the scariest things he's seen in the division.

Tsarukyan stopped Ruffy inside a round, and that performance erased whatever doubt was left about his contender status. Moicano, a self-described fan of Gaethje, didn't hedge on the matchup. If the new champion runs it back against Tsarukyan, he expects a long, ugly night for the champ — and he points to Ruffy's striking being a tougher test than Gaethje's as the reason.

Why He's High on Tsarukyan

The praise isn't vague. Moicano broke Tsarukyan down as a complete fighter — solid striking, serious grappling, elite wrestling, and the fight IQ to tie it all together. That's the profile that worries him most about a Gaethje pairing. In his words, Tsarukyan is simply the next champion, and the rankings back the sentiment: he's been the obvious No. 1 contender for a while now.

The Story Sells Itself

Here's the wrinkle. Even with Tsarukyan sitting right there, Moicano would rather watch Gaethje share the cage with Alexander Volkanovski. The featherweight king is 29-4 and coming off a second-round knockout of Movsar Evloev, and he's floated a double-retirement bout with Gaethje where both men vacate and walk away. Moicano loves the concept — he argues the UFC isn't only about who's best, it's about the narrative behind the fight.

His reasoning cuts both ways. Volkanovski already went the distance with Islam Makhachev in their first meeting before dropping the short-notice rematch, and Moicano sees Gaethje as a far more favorable stylistic matchup than Makhachev ever was. So the fight makes sense for Volkanovski, for Gaethje, and for the promotion's bottom line. It just doesn't make sense if you read the rankings straight down.

Gaethje earned this seat by pulling off the upset over Ilia Topuria at UFC White House in June, so he's got leverage to pick his spot. Moicano admitted the Volkanovski route would be unfair to Tsarukyan, who shouldn't be forced to wait. But he's honest about where his own remote would land: he'd rather see Volk chase history, and he figures the UFC tends to give fans what they want to watch. For now, Moicano has his own problem to solve Saturday night against Nolan.