On a recent episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, UFC lightweight Renato “Money” Moicano made his feelings on AI-generated content clear, both in MMA media and within the UFC’s own promotional machine.
The conversation began when host Ariel Helwani pointed out a book on Amazon titled something along the lines of “Renato Moicano: The Last Minute Replacement Who Stole the Show at UFC 311,” a biography Moicano said he had no involvement in creating.
“You know, but you know what is this? This is people scamming,” Moicano said, reacting to the discovery. “I’m not sure. Don’t sue me.”
Moicano then explained that some sellers feed publicly available information into AI tools to quickly generate books that can be listed for sale online.
He said, “But I think what people do is they go to the AI and they make the produce a book and they sell on Amazon.”
The explanation caught Helwani off guard.
“What the h*ll? People do that?” he said. “I hate it.”
Moicano agreed, saying, “People do that all the time. This AI thing is crazy. I hate it, too.”
From there, the discussion shifted to AI-generated visuals and promotional material used in MMA marketing, including content produced by the UFC itself. Helwani noted that the technology appears to be making inroads into the promotion’s official media output.
Helwani stated, “It’s ruining the UFC promos too. You see that AI stuff?”
This prompted a blunt response from Moicano.
“Yes, I saw. I didn’t like it at all,” he said. “And UFC is not going to be very happy with me to say that. But I didn’t like it, you know.”
He continued, “I think that’s disrespectful towards the fans, because I am a fan myself. And man, if you can put Alex Pereira or Topuria in an airplane and put them in Washington in front of the White House, I don’t think that’s good. I think that’s sloppy.”
Moicano then clarified that his criticism was not aimed at artificial intelligence as a whole, but at how it is used in creative work and fan-facing content.
“I don’t like to use AI on my stuff. I don’t like it at all,” he said. “I’m not saying AI doesn’t help. Some stuff I use AI, but not for content, not for content. Because I think people can see.”
Moicano called the trend “sloppy” and added that it was “brain rotting everybody.”
Helwani immediately backed him up. “I agree. I agree,” he said.
