“It doesn’t make sense,” Renato Moicano doubts the legitimacy of Gaethje-Pimblett’s interim title

Renato Moicano has expressed his frustration at the way Arman Tsarukyan’s withdrawal from his Islam Makhachev title fight at UFC 311 has caused a massive upset in the lightweight division. The Brazilian fighter, who stepped in on 24 hours’ notice to challenge Makhachev, expressed concern that Tsarukyan’s back injury, suffered during weight-cutting preparations on the eve of the fight in January 2025, set off a chain of events that has left the 155-pound division in a precarious state.

Renato Moicano blames Tsarukyan for lightweight collapse

During a interview of “Get upEmiel Sardarean, Moicano stated that he did not believe the current course served the division fairly. ‘I don’t think that’s fair. Who did he beat in the division? When I fought Makhachev, Arman had to fight for the title and he ruined the division. If Arman fought that night, the division would remain, but now that Topuria is going through a divorce, he doesn’t want to fight. They have Gaethje versus Pimblett – for me this will be a paper champion. There is no point in doing an interim title because Topuria would be champion anyway.”

After the UFC 311 event, the lightweight division entered a period of transition. Makhachev eventually vacated the title to pursue the welterweight championship, facing Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in November 2025. This opened the way for Ilia Topuria, who had moved up from featherweight, to fight for the vacant title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June 2025. Topuria claimed that title with a first-round knockout, becoming the tenth fighter in the history of the UFC that won titles in two divisions.

However, Topuria announced in late November 2025 that he would not compete in the first quarter of 2026 due to personal matters involving his children and an ongoing divorce. To prevent the division from getting stuck, the UFC scheduled an interim lightweight title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett for UFC 324 on January 24, 2026 in Las Vegas.

The decision to create an interim title sparked much debate. Arman Tsarukyan, the top-ranked lightweight contender who had defeated Dan Hooker in November 2025, expected to get the interim title shot. Instead, the UFC selected Gaethje, ranked fourth with one win since his loss to Max Holloway, and Pimblett, ranked fifth with no wins over top ten opponents.

Tsarukyan expressed surprise at being bypassed, although he remained calm. “Nothing will change. We will take what is ours. Everything in its own time. Patience and hard work will pay off,” he wrote on social media.

Had Tsarukyan fought Makhachev at UFC 311, the division would have moved forward with a clear champion and challenger dynamic. Instead, the injury caused a series of title vacancies, promotion shifts and the creation of interim belts, leaving the division in what Moicano characterizes as an unjust state. The 35-year-old Brazilian’s perspective on the interim title’s legitimacy adds to an ongoing conversation about how the UFC handles its toughest weight class during periods when the champion is unavailable.