Report – Renato Moicano, Rafael dos Anjos agree to 160lbs catchweight clash at UFC 272

It seems we’ve got an all-Brazilian clash inching closer for UFC 272 this weekend. According to multiple reports this Tuesday evening, Renato Moicano has quite stunningly, agreed to face compatriot, former lightweight champion, Rafael dos Anjos on just four days’ notice at a 160lbs catchweight limit – over the course of five rounds.

As per an initial report from ESPN MMA reporter, Marc Raimondi, Moicano has verbally agreed to clash with his fellow Brazilian dos Anjos on just four days’ notice, replacing Rafael Fiziev on particularly short notice, after the latter, a former-foe of Moicano, turned in a positive test for the novel coronavirus.

Ariel Helwani later reported that Moicano is set to depart his native Brazil later this Tuesday in a bid to arrive in Las Vegas, Nevada this evening – and according to his management firm, Knock Out Representation, their client currently weighs in the region of 180lbs.

It’s also a timely turnaround for Brasilia native, Moicano, who stopped Alexander Hernandez with a taut rear-naked choke just three weeks ago at UFC 271 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

For dos Anjos, the Niteroi native made his lightweight division return back at UFC Vegas 14 in November of 2020, landing a one-sided split decision win over Paul Felder – who replaced Islam Makhachev on fight week to fight dos Anjos, having already agreed to serve as a color commentator at the event. 

A welterweight matchup between former interim division champion, the #1 ranked, Colby Covington, and the #6 rated challenger, Jorge Masvidal is slated to headline UFC 272 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ross Markey

Senior writer for FightBook MMA. An aspiring mixed martial arts reporter based in Ireland. Producer of news articles, interviews, opinion features, and exclusive features such as, ‘The Fallout’, ‘The Breakdown, and, ‘This Week In MMA’.