Tom Nolan says referee stand-up did not change Renato Moicano result

Nolan, who stopped Moicano in the UFC Vegas 123 main event, said he was complaining to referee Dan Miragliotta about punches to the back of the head and was not asking for the fight to be stood up.

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published Sun 1 Nov, 21:11 UK · AI-assisted reporting

Tom Nolan has rejected the idea that referee Dan Miragliotta's second-round stand-up cost Renato Moicano the UFC Vegas 123 main event, insisting Saturday's fight would have ended the same way regardless.

The stoppage was the biggest win of Nolan's MMA career, but the call has overshadowed it. Miragliotta stood the fighters up with Moicano holding a back body triangle, the position Moicano had used throughout the first round. Nolan hurt Moicano immediately after the restart, and the speed of the turnaround left many fans and fighters furious with the referee.

Nolan told reporters at the post-fight press conference that the conversation with Miragliotta during that exchange was about illegal strikes, saying Moicano had been framing Nolan's head forward and punching the back of it. Nolan said: “To be clear, when I was talking to the ref, I wasn’t trying to ask for a standup: he was punching me in the back of the head, I was just trying to tell the ref.” Nolan added that, with five rounds to work with, losing that round would have been acceptable, and that getting up was simply a matter of following the referee's instruction.

Pressed on whether the stand-up had decided the contest, Nolan pointed to what came next, with Moicano reaching the third round and scoring another takedown. Nolan said: “Didn’t he take me down again after the standup? I’m pretty sure he took me down, and I’m pretty sure I turned my hips over, and then I pretty sure I finished him.” The fight was trending that way, Nolan argued, adding that Moicano had landed little on the feet beyond kicks to the body, although Nolan allowed for being wrong on that point. Of the time spent on the mat, Nolan said: “I was strong on the mat, defensively sound; he wasn’t anywhere near a choke. I did my job, I turned in, and I finished the fight. Nothing I can really say about it.” Nolan is likely to move to No. 12 in the UFC lightweight rankings this week and named Mateusz Gamrot as an appealing next opponent, calling it a fun fight stylistically and one that would bring out the best in Nolan's camp. Nolan said the decision would ultimately rest with the UFC.

In this story

Tom Nolan Renato Moicano Mateusz Gamrot