One UFC Fighter Reminds Us of The Importance of Our Constitution

I’ve never been a sports girl so I’ve never been one to spend my free time glued to a television screen cheering for my favorite athletes or team. I am, however, a huge Joe Rogan fan which led me to check out the crazy world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

My maiden voyage of UFC fandom could not have been more aptly timed. 

During the preliminary fights for UFC 302, a Brazilian fighter named Renato Moicano beat his opponent in an epic fight. Seconds after his victory, Rogan, who serves as a commentator for the UFC,  ran into the ring to give Moicano the opportunity to comment on his win. Battered and bloody, Moicano took the microphone to give an impassioned speech not about his win, but about his love and admiration for the United States Constitution. 

“I love America. I love the Constitution. I love the First Amendment. I want to carry and own f-cking guns. I love private property. And let me tell you something, if you care about your  f-cking country, read Ludwig von Mises and the six lessons of the Austrian Economic School, motherf-ckers.”

This comment definitely warranted a double take. Did this fighter, who is not even an American, really just praise the Constitution? Even more surprising, did he just give the most renowned Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises a shoutout?

This was certainly a welcome surprise not only for me but for liberty lovers everywhere. But given Moicanos Brazilian roots, his comments really aren’t that surprising at all. 

Menos Marx, Mais Mises

Like other Latin American countries, Brazil is currently, and has been for some time, in a state of despotism where rights are not guaranteed and the government has far too much power.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes provides a perfect example.

Moraes’ love of censorship might be one reason Renato began his speech with praise for the First Amendment. Moraes isn’t just a judge, he is also the head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral College, which oversees Brazil’s elections. This has allowed him to expand his powers far beyond what the U.S. Constitution would ever allow.

To put his power grab into perspective, Moraes once jailed five people and denied them a trial because of social media posts he deemed to be an attack on the Brazilian government. It’s likely that in his own country, Renato may have been punished if he spoke out like he did in Vegas.

The Brazilian government’s love of socialist policies has also served to harm individual property rights, which might explain why Renato mentioned property in his speech. But just as Renato demonstrates, the views of the Brazilian government do not represent the views of the Brazilian people. In fact, many young Brazilians are fighting to bring U.S. constitutional principles to their own country.

In 2014, a new hope was born in Brazil. Inspired by the classical liberal ideals that inspired America’s Constitution, a group of young Brazilians formed the Free Brazil Movement (MBL).

Fed up with the attack on individual rights and the support of socialist economic policies, “Menos Marx, Mais Mises,” became their rallying cry. It appears that Moicano himself may be a part of this movement. 

Moicano expanded on his victory speech on the podcast, “The MMA Hour“.

“I’m very concerned. A lot of people talk to me about money. But, the problem is, it’s not about how much money you get, it’s about how much money you can keep. And like with the inflation, this book ‘Six Lessons of Mises [Six Lessons, Economic Policy],’ I think in English it’s another name [Economic Policy: Thoughts for Today and Tomorrow], this is the Portuguese name. But in this book you learn about capitalism, socialism, interventionism, inflation, foreign currency, and political ideas. And in this book, he explained what the government does with your money with taxes and the way they break out of debt.

He continued:

“I know some people are struggling and they are on [in] a bad place but the government wants that, they want people in bad places so that they can make that money, can keep the cycle of poverty. And if you start to learn and understand about economics, then about money, you don’t want to be rely [reliant] on government, rely on welfare, because in the long term this is going to destroy not only the rich but the middle class and the poor too.”

He added, “Many, many empires collapsed [due to] inflation and uncontrollable debt. The Roman Empire was destroyed not only because of barbarians but because they were falsifying the coins. They couldn’t print the money, so they were mixing metals with the silver and losing the [value]. So, the degeneration of money, the degeneration of society leads to a weak society. And I want to live in a strong society with good values, so that’s why I recommend you read Ludwig Von Mises, Six Lessons. It’s six lectures that he did on [in] Argentina, very easy topics, you don’t need to be a scholar, it’s very easy to understand.”

Moicano isn’t the only high profile person in South America leading the way for liberty-centered ideology. Argentina’s new president Javier Milei has not only described himself a libertarian, but has also spoken of his love for Mises. liberty, at least in some capacity, seems to be spreading across the continent.

A Lesson to Americans

Moicano’s comments aren’t just important to understanding the political climate of Brazil; they are an important reminder to Americans. It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of our political system. Presidential election years like 2024 only serve to highlight our political circus and lead to many feeling like our country is a lost cause. 

Chaotic as things may seem, we often forget that we live in a country where a Constitution still chains the government to the rule of law, even if we have to hold their feet to the fire to ensure their compliance. 

Moicano reminds us of our Constitution’s importance not just to us here in America, but to people all over the world who long for a political system that is rooted in limited government and individual liberty.