Tom Nolan scores TKO victory over Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 123

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Renato Moicano, Dan Miragliotta, and Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 123 | Jeff Bottari, Zuffa LLC Tom Nolan picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC Vegas 123, but referee Dan Miragliotta might have stolen the show. Saturday’s headlining bout saw Nolan extend his win streak to six with a third-round knockout over longtime contender Renato Moicano. However, that summary doesn’t exactly do the finishing sequence justice as it was preceded by arguably the most controversial officiating call of the year. Near the end of Round 2, with Moicano dominating the fight from back control on the mat, Miragliotta called for a reset, forcing Moicano to relinquish his position and standing the fighters up. Shortly after, Nolan caught Moicano with a damaging knee that swung the momentum of the fight permanently in Nolan’s favor. He went on to finish an exhausted Moicano with ground strikes. The ref stood up the fight while Renato Moicano had Tom Nolan’s back Nolan almost finished Moicano just moments later… 😬 #UFCVegas123 pic.twitter.com/iNyqIcjH4c — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 1, 2026 There’s no telling whether Nolan would have eventually turned the fight around anyway, but the MMA community was unanimous in its condemnation of Miragliotta’s decision. “He capitalized, but the ref won that one,” UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney wrote on Twitter. “Crazy work standing that up.” See more pros reactions from social media below. He capitalize but the ref won that one crazy work standing that up — Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 1, 2026 How do you guys feel about Nolan’s win? The referee standing them up when Moicano had the back changed the fight — Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) November 1, 2026 That's fucked up — Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) November 1, 2026 So now we reward a guy not knowing how to get out of the back control and we just stand them up? This is the craziest thing I have ever saw in UFC! — Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) November 1, 2026 Craziest thing I have ever seen in UFC — Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) November 1, 2026 Congratulations Dan Murgaiotta on the win 😡 — Eric Albarracin (@CPTdasAmericas) November 1, 2026 Freaking referee! 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️ omg it’s no way he did that! #UFCVegas123 — GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 1, 2026 Terrible ref — Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 1, 2026 VAI SE FUDER JUIZ FILHO DA PUTA!!!! — Mairon "The Legend" Santos (@Maironsantoss) November 1, 2026 Imagine if in football the refs could just throw a flag and say “they ran the ball too much and the other team can’t stop it, loss of down and 15 yard penalty”. Thats the equivalent of standing up a fight from back control in MMA.#UFCVegas123 — Joe Solecki (@JoeSolecki) November 1, 2026 Dan Mirgliotta should be investigated or lose his job as a referee. You absolutely cannot stand up a fight from back control with a body triangle. Unacceptable. Referees need to answer for their horrible decisions and performances. #UFCVegas123 — Joe Solecki (@JoeSolecki) November 1, 2026

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Tom Nolan survived an early onslaught on the canvas to deliver his own vicious brand of ground and pound to finish Renato Moicano in the UFC Vegas 123 main event. Showing patience and good defense, Nolan avoided Moicano’s many submission attempts early but then came back with some devastating body work to finally put the Brazilian in trouble on the ground. From there, Nolan just unladed some vicious shots until referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight with the end coming at 1:28 in the third round. TOM NOLAN WITH THE BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREER RD 3 TKO WIN OVER RENATO MOICANO [ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] pic.twitter.com/MuP3Z7Vkor — UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) November 1, 2026 “That’s probably better than I expected,” Nolan said about the win. “I come in here, I spoke to God, I said this is the plan for me and I trust me. I come in here ice cold and I delivered. “This is the guy I wanted to fight. This is my job right now and I performed. Whatever the UFC want to do with me next.” A nasty body kick from Moicano opened the action before ducking down and taking Nolan to the ground. A moment later Moicano was on Nolan’s back with a body triangle locked on. Moicano was quick to start searching for submissions with Nolan stuck playing defense before actually getting back to his feet. Moicano maintained his position on the back while still trying to lock on the rear naked choke. That forced Nolan back to the ground again but he survived until the round ended. As the second round got started, Noland was able to defend Moicano’s first takedown attempt but not again after the Brazilian got the body lock and just flung him to the ground. Moicano again latched onto the back with the body triangle as Nolan was again stuck playing defense. In a bizarre move, Miragliotta actually stood them up and that led to Nolan scoring a knockdown as he blasted away at Moicano trying to get the finish just as the round ended. Nolan followed that up with a near head kick and a brutal knee strike to open the third round but Moicano still got the fight to the ground. His success was only momentary as Nolan reversed positions and he immediately started hammering away with strike. Noland was relentless with his ground and pound until the referee saw enough to stop the fight as the Aussie earns the biggest win of his career. A top prospect since first arriving in the UFC, Nolan now has a signature win on his resume after beating Moicano and now he’s looking at even tougher competition in the lightweight top 15 rankings.

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After a referee restart got him out of trouble in Round 2, the 26-year-old Australian hurt Moicano with a knee and finished him with elbows in the third. It’s his sixth straight win.