Rivalries: Renato Carneiro

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Renato Carneiro has not yet established a firm foothold in the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight division.

“Moicano” will seek his third win in four appearances when he takes on Factory X export Alexander Hernandez as part of the UFC 271 undercard on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Carneiro, 32, owns a 7-4 record inside the Octagon. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 190, where he submitted Jai Herbert with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their June 26 pairing.

As Carneiro makes final preparations for his three-round scrap with Hernandez in Space City, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Zubaira Tukhugov

Stinging leg kicks, right-hand counters and exceptional takedown defense carried Carneiro to a split decision over the American Kickboxing Academy rep in their UFC 198 featherweight prelim on May 14, 2016 at Arena da Baixada in Curitiba, Brazil. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards: Alessandro Vieira for Tukhugov, Joseph Terrell and Glenn Trowbridge for Carneiro. Output was an issue for Tukhugov, as he struggled at times to string together his punches. Carneiro carved up his lead leg with kicks, fed him an occasional jab and stymied his attempts to dictate where the fight played out by shutting down his takedowns and scrambling out of potential danger. The Brazilian weathered a cut near his left eye and controlled the center of the cage against Tukhugov, who saw his nine-fight winning streak grind to a halt.

Brian Ortega

The former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion submitted Carneiro with a guillotine choke as part of the UFC 214 undercard on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Ortega coaxed the tap 2:59 into Round 3, putting himself on a path to eventual title contention. He tore into Carneiro with repeated right hands throughout much of the first round, bloodying his nose in the process. “Moicano” made the necessary adjustments and connected with multi-strike volleys in the middle stanza, often punctuation those efforts with kicks to the leg and body. He also incorporated a late takedown for good measure. Round 3 was following a similar narrative—until Carneiro shot for another ill-advised takedown. Ortega clamped down on the guillotine, wrapped Brazilian in full guard and negotiated his surrender.

Cub Swanson

In one of his most comprehensive performances to date, Carneiro submitted the World Extreme Cagefighting champion with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their UFC 227 featherweight showcase on Aug. 4, 2018 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Swanson checked out 4:15 into Round 1. Carneiro sat down the Californian with stiff jab midway through the first round and swarmed with punches for a potential finish. Swanson somehow survived the onslaught and returned to an upright position, only to be dragged back to the canvas by his relentless counterpart. Carneiro climbed to full mount twice and ultimately transitioned to the back when the six-time “Fight of the Night” award winner tried to move to a standing position. Soon after, the choke was in place and Swanson had no choice but the raise the white flag.

Jose Aldo

An all-time great showed once again why he carries that distinction, as the former featherweight champion and future hall of famer carved up Carneiro with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 144 co-main event on Feb. 2, 2019 at Centro de Formacao Olimpica do Nordeste in Fortaleza, Brazil. Referee Jerin Valel rescued “Moicano” from an avalanche of strikes 44 seconds into Round 2. Aldo spent much of the opening round stalking and measuring his countryman. In the beginning stages of the second, he staggered Carneiro with a clean left hook and cut loose with hooks, uppercuts and knees. The onetime interim Jungle Fight titleholder retreated to the fence but found no refuge there, as Aldo continued to tear into him with blistering hooks and uppercuts until the job was done.

Rafael Fiziev

The Phuket Top Team standout continued his climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s lightweight ladder when he dispatched Carneiro with a blistering three-punch combination as part of the UFC 256 undercard on Dec. 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Fiziev sealed the deal 4:05 into Round 1. Carneiro held his own initially, zeroing in on the Kyrgyzstani police officer with penetrating jabs and overhand rights. However, when his first pass at a takedown failed, the American Top Team rep found himself trapped on the feet with one of the most frightening strikers in the 155-pound weight class. Fiziev stepped forward with a left hook to the body late in the first round, followed with a right hook to the head and then closed the show with a sweeping left hook upstairs that floored the Brazilian and prompted referee Chris Tognoni to intervene.