UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier has a big fight coming up, but it’s his teammate who has caught the community’s attention. Renato Moicano recently shared some comments that left the MMA world divided. He was one of the thousand fighters who came to an agreement with the UFC to settle the class action lawsuit for $375 million. Every fighter took his or her share, which ranged from $250,000 to over $1 million. But Moicano chose not to take his cut. “I just had to put my name over there. But I did not take it,” the lightweight fighter recently said.

But Moicano didn’t just stop there, as he also blasted the fighter who took the agreement, saying, “All the fighters that I got money, they are f——, no morals. […] The free check, the free money,” while talking about his “love” for the UFC. It appears that his comments sparked outrage, as he shared a tweet, addressing the backlash on social media, as Moicano seemed surprised.

“I’m amazed by how many people are cursing me out for my decision not to take the money from the lawsuit against the UFC. I believe those who are criticizing me haven’t stopped to think about something simple: you shouldn’t need a contract for your word to mean something. I agreed to the terms of the contract,” Moicano wrote on X. He was disappointed at the fact that people were opposed to him not taking what he deemed as “free money.”

Insinuating that honor and integrity are huge deals for him, Renato Moicano believes he’s misunderstood because he made that $375 million deal when he really needed the money, although the terms weren’t ideal. However, Dustin Poirier’s teammate prefers not to join the crowd of fighters to rally against Dana White and Co. just because they are doing it. Nevertheless, everybody has his or her opinion, and that’s what Moicano mentioned when he ended his tweet.

“At the time, that money was a huge deal for me. I don’t expect the UFC to acknowledge this, the UFC is a company, and a company is focused on productivity. I’m doing this for myself and for the things I believe in,” Renato Moicano added. “If you think I’m wrong, that’s okay. That’s the beauty of freedom, everyone has their own life. Ruin it however you want. Nothing in this world is free.”

While not choosing to take the $375 million was a personal choice for Renato Moicano, it wasn’t so much for the others, as veteran Josh Thomson mentioned a few months ago. He claims that a lot of fighters turned down their share due to fear. Here’s what he had to say.

Unlike Dustin Poirier’s teammate, some fighters were ‘afraid’ to take the money

During an episode of the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thompson claimed that he’s been hearing murmurs about the fact that some fighters are shying away from taking the money even though they deserve to take it. Apparently, they don’t want to burn the bridge with Dana White and Co. And we all know how much the CEO dislikes the people that he does. Take Francis Ngannou, for example. Even after two years since they had their back-and-forth feud, White still doesn’t look like he’ll allow ‘The Predator’ to ever fight in the UFC.

“There are a lot of fighters out there that I’m hearing that they’re afraid to make the UFC upset, and they’re saying that they’re going to decline the money,” Josh Thomson stated. He believed that instead of worrying about their relationship with Dana White, they should have just taken the money since it’s going to go out anyway. “If you’re gonna turn the money down, you’re really just hurting yourself.”

Renato Moicano has really proven himself to be a team player, and it looks like there’s a strong sense of loyalty between him and the UFC. Still, we’d love to hear your thoughts on his comments regarding the lawsuit money. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.