Athletes
The Journey Doesn't Scare Thiago Moises
Brazilian Lightweight Thiago Moises Reflects On His Recent Victory And Why He Embraces The Slow Climb Up The UFC Lightweight Ladder.
A week after his March 16 win over Mitch Ramirez, and Thiago Moises was back home in Brazil and ready for the next phone call from the UFC.
That’s the life for a lightweight on the rise in one of the sport’s toughest divisions, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.
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“I just want to get better, keep improving, and show a better version of Tiago my next fight,” Moises said. “But it's also important get the body to rest and get the mind a little rest. Also, because we go through so much stress during the whole camp, during fight week, and the fight itself, also, it's a lot of pressure. So I think it's good for a little bit of rest so we can reset and go a hundred percent again. So right now I'm going to just enjoy my family, enjoy my friends, lift some weights and get back to training slowly.”
These days, Moises and his family aren’t spending all year in Florida while he trains at the American Top Team gym. For the last four months, the Moises clan have been back in Brazil before the 29-year-old from Sao Paulo finishes up training camps in the sunshine state.
“My wife wanted to be closer to our family,” he said. “That's why we are here.”
So the boss has spoken?
“Yeah, if I don't listen, she beats me up,” laughs Moises. But in all seriousness, stability outside the Octagon is a good recipe for success in it, and Moises was firing on all cylinders in his bout with Ramirez, who replaced Brad Riddell on short notice. It was the perfect example of a high risk, low reward fight for Moises, who quickly interrupted.
“To be honest with you, this was high risk, zero reward,” laughed Moises, who halted the UFC newcomer in the third round at the UFC APEX. Well, he did get two paychecks for the win, so that’s a positive, but as far as a fight that was going to move him back into the rankings, a victory over Riddell had the chance for him to do that. Against Ramirez, he would drop with a loss, but move nowhere with a win.
“I respect Mitch a lot, but this was his first fight in the UFC and he lost on the Contender Series, so I had nothing to gain from this fight and he had everything to gain,” said Moises. “So there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders because, as you said, I was supposed to fight Brad Riddell, everybody knows Brad Riddell, and everybody was looking forward to that fight. I think it would have been a great fight. Unfortunately, he pulled out and I had to fight Mitch. So I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’ve got to beat this guy and this fight cannot be even close because I cannot go there and win a close decision against Mitch. I’ve got to dominate and finish him because otherwise I'm going to look bad. So that was my mindset going to the fight. But I was able to just put that aside when it came down to our fight and I was just ready to get in the cage and focus on the game plan and do my best.”
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His best was more than sufficient as he took the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards before closing the show in the third. It was a nice reminder that he is among the best in the division.
“Yes, one hundred percent because, as I told you, this was his debut and I had fought a main event against (UFC lightweight champion) Islam (Makhachev). I fought all those veterans and I'm just 28 years old. So I feel that I have a lot of room to grow still. I keep getting better every day and I know I'm going to get to the belt sooner than later.”
Moises, who turned 29 a week after the Ramirez fight, is in a good place in his career. He gave Makhachev a fight in 2021 before getting submitted in the fourth round, he already holds wins over Alexander Hernandez, Bobby Green and Michael Johnson, and has finished his last three victories. Expected to be next up is Ludovit Klein, and while it isn’t the man he called out – Dan Hooker – Moises will always step up when his name is called.
“We get paid to fight,” he said. “I’ll fight anybody, just tell me where and against who. I'll be there. I'm going to sign the contract and I'm going to show up.”
See you in June.
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