Renato Moicano: Dan Hooker's top-five UFC lightweight ranking is like 'a turtle in a tree'

Renato Moicano has no idea how Dan Hooker wound up in the UFC’s top five lightweight rankings.

Hooker (24-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) earned that spot by edging out Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305 in August. Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who battered Benoit Saint Denis en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO in Round 2 of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 headliner, sees Hooker as an easy path to the top five.

“I don’t know how he’s in the top five – that’s unbelievable,” Moicano said during the ESPN post-fight show. “It’s like to see a turtle in a tree. Have you seen a turtle in a tree? Somebody put him there. That’s the whole thing, you know? He didn’t climb the tree, but he’s on the tree. So if they want to give me an easy pass for the title shot, Dan Hooker is easy money.

“Imagine if I take him down, what I’m going to do to him. He has no ground game. Paddy Pimblett is another easy money, but I respect him a little bit more. You know why? Because he has a lot of followers. If you have followers, you have my respect. People want to see Paddy Pimblett, and I respect him.”

When asked what his strongest attribute is, Moicano said it’s his will to win.

“I cannot afford to lose,” Moicano said. “I’m telling everybody I have a house to pay. I just bought a new house. Dumb decision, but we don’t do decisions by head, we do by heart. I want to see my kid grow in a great backyard with a pool, and then I did that mistake. So until the house is paid, until all my debt is paid, I cannot afford to lose. Doesn’t matter if even Khabib (Nurmagomedov) comes back – I will beat Khabib.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.