Renato Moicano vs. Tom Nolan headlines UFC Vegas 123
The Brazilian with 11 submission wins faces the 6-foot-3 Australian on Saturday in Las Vegas after his Brian Ortega rematch fell through twice.
Renato Moicano, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt ranked No. 12 at lightweight, meets Australia’s Tom Nolan, ranked No. 14, in the UFC Vegas 123 main event this Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+.
It is a clash of very different profiles. Moicano, a Brasília native who trains at American Top Team, is 21-7-1, and 11 of his wins have come by submission. Nolan, 26, stands 6-foot-3 and is 11-1 with five knockouts.
The Brian Ortega rematch that fell through twice
Moicano was not supposed to be in this fight. The UFC’s plan for 2026 was a rematch with Brian Ortega, who submitted him with a guillotine choke at 2:59 of the third round at UFC 214 in July 2017. Both men were unbeaten going in, and it was the first loss of Moicano’s career.
The rematch was booked for UFC 326 in March and fell apart when Ortega got hurt. Rescheduled for UFC 331 in September in Los Angeles, it was scrapped again after Ortega suffered a cut. The UFC then moved Moicano to the Oct. 31 headliner against Nolan.
Moicano’s submission win over Chris Duncan
Moicano comes in off a win. In April, in the UFC Vegas 115 main event, he submitted Chris Duncan, a former American Top Team training partner, with a rear-naked choke at 3:14 of the second round.
That win snapped a rough stretch. In January 2025, he took a short-notice lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 and was submitted in the first round. Makhachev’s own path has changed since then: he is now out of UFC 336. In June 2025, Moicano lost a unanimous decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 317.
Before that, the Brazilian was on the best run of his career, beating Drew Dober by decision, knocking out Jalin Turner at UFC 300 and stopping Benoît Saint Denis by doctor stoppage in the UFC Paris main event. Brazilians are still circling Makhachev, too, as Charles Oliveira’s pick of Carlos Prates shows.
Tom Nolan’s only loss came against a Brazilian
This is Nolan’s first UFC main event. The only loss on his record came in January 2024, when Brazil’s Nikolas Motta knocked him out just 1:03 into the first round.
Since then, the Australian has beaten Viacheslav Borshchev and Farès Ziam by unanimous decision and submitted Charlie Campbell with a first-round rear-naked choke. The Ziam win came in June.
On paper, it is the Brazilian’s jiu-jitsu against the striking of a taller, younger opponent. Nolan has only one submission win, and five of his 11 victories ended in the first round.
The other Brazilians at UFC Vegas 123
Moicano will not be the only Brazilian in Las Vegas. On the main card, No. 7 women’s bantamweight Luana Santos faces No. 6 Yana Santos. On the prelims, which start at 5 p.m. ET, Rodrigo Sezinando meets Theodor Berggren, Talita Alencar faces Piera Rodriguez and Tainara Lisboa takes on Lucia Szabova.
Can Moicano drag Tom Nolan to the mat and finish him, or will the Australian keep it standing? Drop your pick in the comments.
Read more:
- Islam Makhachev out of UFC 336, Carlos Prates fight scrapped
- Carlos Prates to fight Michael Morales for UFC interim title
- Charles Oliveira picks Carlos Prates to beat Islam Makhachev
