"You deserve better than Gavin Newsom" - Renato Moicano earns brownie points with fans for calling out California governor over L.A. wildfires

Renato Moicano appears to have earned praise from certain sections of the MMA realm and beyond after his criticism of California Governor Gavin Newsom. It comes amid the wildfires that reportedly came to the fore on Jan. 7, 2025, and have mainly affected Los Angeles (L.A.) in the U.S. state of California.

Per Reuters, the fires burned 59 square miles and claimed 27 lives. Around 12,000 structures were completely/partially damaged. Per CNN, over 100,000 faced evacuation orders. California's Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party-helmed state government have faced considerable criticism over it, including accusations of unpreparedness and mismanagement.

Podcast mogul Joe Rogan and several other prominent public personalities have even speculated whether Newsom could possibly attempt to benefit by clandestinely acquiring some land there after the fires.

Well, the UFC 311 event transpires at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Jan. 18, 2025. Notably, Renato Moicano, who fights Beneil Dariush in a lightweight bout on the card, took aim at Gavin Newsom.

During the UFC 311 pre-fight press conference, Renato Moicano also sounded off on another longstanding criticism against the state of California and the Newsom-helmed regime -- that of allegedly unfairly high taxation. Moicano expressed his respect for California's first responders and stated:

"What's up, motherf**kers? Let's go. First of all, before your question, huge shoutout to the first responders on the wildfires in California. You deserve better than Gavin Newsom. F**k that. Let's go. We deserve better ... When they come to me to fight in California, I thought state taxes. F**k that."

Check out Renato Moicano's comments below:

Moreover, Moicano, who's often praised free market capitalism, added:

"Let me tell you something, my brother. I cannot afford to lose. I respect Beneil Dariush ... He's good. He's well-rounded. But guess what? I'm winning. I cannot afford to lose. Free market capitalism -- you eat what you kill. And I'm [going to] kill him to get money. Let's f**king go."

Watch the press conference below (*Moicano's comments at 18:13):

Renato Moicano appeared to earn brownie points with many fans by criticizing U.S. politician Gavin Newsom. One X user wrote:

"Hahaha. Everyone hates Newsom"

A commenter tweeted:

"The dude is on fire. Great personality ha!"

Another fan joined in to lambast Newsom:

"YEAAA F**K GAVIN NEWSC*M!!!"

Alternatively, some observers disagreed with him. One X user wrote:

"This mf is so dumb"

Some others emphasized that they'd love to see Moicano win. Another commenter tweeted:

"ONFG F**K GAVIN NEWSOME"

Check out the screenshots of a few reactions below:

Screenshots of tweets

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Renato Moicano's recent praise for the U.S.

Renato Moicano has gained many fans as of late with his socio-political assertions, improved English to communicate with U.S. fans, and his 'Money' persona. He's developed a reputation for giving and seeking financial advice. Like his take on California's taxes, Moicano criticized the purportedly high taxation in France too.

Furthermore, a staple of the ATT (American Top Team) gym in Florida, Brazil's Moicano recently deemed moving to the United States of America as his best decision ever. On the second episode of UFC 311: Embedded, he underlined that he owns a house and business, and admires American society's tenets:

"What I like about U.S.A. is some of the core values...Hard work, dedication, family, all that stuff."

Watch Moicano's assessment below (3:37):