Yahoo Sports Moicano steps in on 24 hours notice to fight Makhachev
Renato Moicano has stepped in on 24 hours notice to fight Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title on Saturday in California.
Defending champion Makhachev was due to fight Arman Tsarukyan, but the Armenian challenger had to withdraw from the fight with a back injury.
Moicano, 35, was booked to fight American Beneil Dariush on the undercard, but weighed in at championship weight on Friday to be eligible to compete for the title.
"Around 1am [on Friday] we received a call that Tsarukyan was experiencing significant back pain, due to the injury he feels he is not healthy enough to compete," UFC president Dana White said on X.
"Moicano has been on tear since moving up to 155lb and currently holds the longest active win streak among all [contenders] in the top 10 of the lightweight division."
Tsarukyan, 28, was seeking revenge against 33-year-old Makhachev, who beat him on a points decision in 2019.
But Moicano will now face the Russian, who has not tasted defeat for almost 10 years and has won 14 fights in a row.
"Tomorrow I am going to shock the world," said the Brazilian.
"I am so happy I got this opportunity for a long time. I knew this could happen, that's why I was training five rounds.
"That's why I was training with a southpaw. That's why I am ready."
Makhachev v Moicano is one of two UFC title fights on the card, with Merab Dvalishvili defending his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event.
Retired UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov trains both Makhachev and Umar and is the cousin of the latter.
