Tom Nolan honoured to face Moicano a week after Volkanovski title win

The 26-year-old Australian, unbeaten in his last five fights, headlines a UFC card for the first time when he meets veteran Renato Moicano at the Meta APEX on Saturday.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Thu 29 Oct, 15:10 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Post by @UFCEurope on X

Tom Nolan says it is an honour to headline UFC Vegas 123 against Renato Moicano this Saturday, seven days after fellow Australian Alexander Volkanovski retained the featherweight title at UFC 333.

Volkanovski stopped the previously unbeaten Movsar Evloev by second-round TKO last Saturday, in a fight the betting had priced close to even. Nolan, who is preparing for the first main event of his UFC career, said he expected his compatriot to win but was struck by the manner of it against an opponent of Evloev's level. He said: “But when he goes out and does that, it’s, honestly, just insane, man. It’s an honor to be the next weekend’s main event after him. It’s pretty cool.” Nolan said the back-to-back main events showed how far Australian MMA had come. “It makes me believe… like, look at the sport. Ten years ago, we barely had an Aussie in the UFC. Now we’ve got two, back-to-back on a weekend. It’s unheard of, you know? It’s crazy.” The Moicano fight was first offered to Nolan for UFC 331, on a week's notice after Brian Ortega withdrew. Nolan said Moicano's team asked for more time to prepare, and the bout was moved to this card with the pair as headliners.

Nolan believes accepting that late call brought him good fortune. He had recently relocated to New Zealand with his partner, renting out the house they had bought in Australia and shipping their vehicles and belongings, and said the main event came two months later as a reward for committing fully to his career. He described Moicano as a veteran he had watched throughout his own career and said the timing could not have been better.

Moicano arrives off a second-round finish of Chris Duncan in the UFC Vegas 115 main event, which ended Duncan's four-fight winning streak.

Nolan said a win would put him in the middle of the top 10 and that he had nothing to lose against the more experienced man. He said: “I’m coming in here, seriously, to do some damage and to win this fight. And I want to do it in very impressive fashion.”

In this story

Tom Nolan Renato Moicano Alexander Volkanovski Movsar Evloev Brian Ortega Chris Duncan