Renato Moicano loses to Tom Nolan after disputed stand-up
The Brazilian had Nolan’s back when Dan Miragliotta restarted the fight on the feet. Moments later, a knee turned the fight around.
Tom Nolan stopped Renato Moicano by TKO at 1:28 of the third round in the UFC Vegas 123 main event on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The finish came after a heavily criticized call by referee Dan Miragliotta, who stood the fighters up late in the second round while the Brazilian had Nolan’s back.
Moicano, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, controlled long stretches of the first two rounds on the mat. Back on the feet, he ate a knee that nearly ended the fight before the bell, and he never recovered.
How Moicano controlled Nolan on the ground
The 37-year-old Brazilian got clipped early but timed a level change for a takedown in the first round. He took Nolan’s back, locked a body triangle and spent the rest of the round hunting a rear-naked choke, which the Australian survived.
In the second round, Nolan stunned Moicano with high kicks. Moicano walked through them, landed a body lock and dragged Nolan back to the mat. Once again on the back, he started landing short punches.
The Miragliotta stand-up that changed the fight
That is when Miragliotta stepped in and stood both men up, with Moicano still in the dominant position. Referees usually restart a fight on the feet when they see no activity on the ground, but the Brazilian was still working.
It proved costly. When Moicano shot for another takedown, Nolan landed a high kick and a knee to the head that dropped him. The Australian followed with ground strikes and nearly finished it, but the round ran out.
In the third, another knee put Moicano down. Nolan took full mount and unloaded punches and elbows until the stoppage at 1:28.
What Tom Nolan and Renato Moicano said
The second-round restart became the talking point of the night, with fighters and analysts blasting the call on social media. After the fight, Nolan acknowledged the crowd’s reaction. “Nah, I mean, you heard the crowd, they didn’t love it,” he said.
He also said the plan was to drag Moicano into deep water. “We were confident the later it went, the more I’d be likely to finish him,” Nolan said.
Moicano did not blame the referee. On social media, he congratulated Nolan, called his own performance terrible and admitted he could not do damage from the back. “He was defending well! Congrats to the guy. We move forward!” he wrote.
Before the fight, Moicano had brushed off Nolan’s praise with a profanity-laced answer, saying he wanted money because his full purse depended on a win. In our UFC Vegas 123 preview, VF Comunica laid out the clash of styles: 11 of Moicano’s wins had come by submission, while Nolan relied on his striking.
With the win, the 26-year-old Nolan extended his UFC winning streak to six and earned a Performance of the Night bonus, along with Julian Erosa, Joseph Kropschot and Lucia Szabova. Moicano has now lost three of his last four UFC fights.
The other Brazilians had a mixed night. Luana Santos beat Yana Santos by unanimous decision and Rodrigo Sezinando beat Theodor Berggren by doctor stoppage, while Talita Alencar and Tainara Lisboa lost.
UFC Vegas 123 full results
Main card
- Lightweight: Tom Nolan def. Renato Moicano by TKO (punches and elbows), 1:28 of Round 3
- Welterweight: Jacobe Smith def. Randy Brown by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Flyweight: Cody Durden def. Ode Osbourne by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Women’s bantamweight: Luana Santos def. Yana Santos by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Welterweight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Farman Hasanov by TKO (punches), 2:11 of Round 3
Prelims
- Catchweight (148 lbs): Dakota Hope def. Francis Marshall by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Welterweight: Rodrigo Sezinando def. Theodor Berggren by TKO (doctor stoppage), 5:00 of Round 2
- Featherweight: Julian Erosa def. Lee Jeong-yeong by KO (punches), 1:31 of Round 1
- Middleweight: Zachary Reese def. Mickey Gall by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Middleweight: Joseph Kropschot def. Nick Klein by submission (armbar), 1:25 of Round 2
- Women’s strawweight: Piera Rodriguez def. Talita Alencar by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Women’s flyweight: Lucia Szabova def. Tainara Lisboa by TKO (punches), 3:20 of Round 3
Did Miragliotta get it wrong by taking Moicano off Nolan’s back, or should the Brazilian have done more on the ground? Tell us in the comments.
Read more:
- Renato Moicano rejects Tom Nolan’s praise at UFC Vegas 123
- UFC Vegas 123 weigh-ins: Moicano on weight, Marshall misses
- Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan headlines UFC Vegas 123
