UFC Vegas 123: Tom Nolan stops Moicano as referee draws criticism

Tom Nolan picked up the biggest win of his career on Saturday, October 31 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The Australian stopped Brazil's Renato Moicano in the third round (1:28) with punches and elbows on the mat in the lightweight main event of UFC Vegas 123. It is his sixth straight win. The talking point, though, is a referee's call late in the second round.

The stand-up that turned the fight

Moicano controlled the first two rounds. In the second he had Nolan's back with a body triangle, landing strikes and hunting for the rear-naked choke. Referee Dan Miragliotta nonetheless halted the action and stood both men up. Early in the third, Nolan landed a knee and finished Moicano on the ground.

The backlash came quickly. Former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling called the decision "criminal". Veteran UFC referee John McCarthy said on his Weighing In podcast on Monday that Moicano had earned the position and was still working (around 20 strikes in the last minute before the stand-up), and that creating action is not the referee's job. In his view, the intervention handed Nolan a clear advantage. Neither the UFC nor the referee had commented publicly by Monday evening.

The rest of the card

On the main card, Jacobe Smith beat Randy Brown by unanimous decision (30-26 on all three cards) at middleweight, Cody Durden outpointed Ode' Osbourne (29-28 three times) at flyweight and Luana Santos edged Yana Santos (29-28 three times) at bantamweight. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani won by doctor stoppage in the third round after Farman Hasanov was cut near the eye.

On the prelims, Julian Erosa knocked out Lee Jeong-yeong in 1:31, Joe Kropschot submitted Nick Klein with an armbar in the second round and Lucia Szabová stopped Tainara Lisboa in the third. All three, along with Tom Nolan, were among the night's bonus winners.

What's next

Nolan should break into the lightweight top 10 and is asking for a ranked opponent. Moicano, who now says he expects to retire from MMA after three more UFC fights, may push for a rematch. The promotion's next major event is UFC 334 in New York on November 14, with Ciryl Gane facing Josh Hokit for the heavyweight title.