Nolan Stops Moicano After Controversial Referee Stand-up at UFC Vegas 123

WHO:

Yahoo Sports - Tom Nolan said, “Nah, I mean, you heard the crowd — they didn't love it,” when asked about the referee’s stand-up, and declined to call out a future opponent, saying he would leave his next fight to the UFC.

MMA Fighting - Daniel Cormier called the stand-up “a referee error” that “casts a little bit of a shadow” over Nolan’s performance. UFC commentator Laura Sanko said Moicano’s activity while holding the position did not warrant a stand-up.

MMA Fighting - UFC analyst Din Thomas said stand-ups are at a referee’s discretion and questioned whether Moicano might challenge the incident with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Yahoo Sports - Julian Erosa announced his UFC retirement after his first-round knockout win over Jeong-yeong Lee.

Yahoo Sports - Tom Nolan, a 26-year-old Australian lightweight nicknamed “Big Train,” defeated Renato Moicano, a longtime UFC veteran and former lightweight title challenger.

Yahoo Sports - Nolan’s record became 12-1, and he had won six straight UFC lightweight fights. Moicano’s record was 27-8-1; he had lost three of his last four UFC fights and had two fights remaining on his contract.

MMA Fighting - Nolan said, “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.”

Yahoo Sports - Nolan said he had not wanted to risk “doing any stupid s* and getting choked out” while defending on the mat, and added, “I ended up knocking him out, so it ended up being f*ing sick.”

Sportskeeda - Belal Muhammad, identified as a former UFC welterweight champion, criticized referee Dan Miragliotta’s work; the article’s supplied text does not include the details of his comments.

Sportskeeda - Daniel Cormier, Caio Borralho and Renato Moicano also reacted to the referee controversy. Moicano said he had “a terrible performance,” according to the headline.

WHAT:

MMA Fighting - Cormier said Moicano had no argument to make about the fight’s outcome, despite the referee’s stand-up.

Yahoo Sports - Jacobe Smith’s unanimous-decision scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26; he had nearly nine minutes of Octagon control.

Yahoo Sports - Nolan stopped Moicano by third-round TKO at 1:28, using ground-and-pound and elbows after landing knees. The official main-card listing describes the finish as TKO by elbows.

MMA Fighting - Miragliotta stood the fighters up during the second round while Moicano had Nolan’s back and a body triangle locked in. Nolan then scored a knockdown and nearly finished Moicano before the round ended.

Sportskeeda - Nolan said he had not asked Miragliotta to stand the fighters up.

Yahoo Sports - Jacobe Smith beat Randy Brown by unanimous decision; all three judges scored it 30-27. Smith’s record improved to 14-0, while Brown’s became 20-9.

Heavy.com - Nolan, Julian Erosa, Joe Kropschot and Lucia Szabova each received a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani and Rodrigo Sezinando each received a $25,000 finish bonus.

WHERE:

Heavy.com - UFC Vegas 123 took place at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Yahoo Sports - Nolan trains at City Kickboxing, which he praised as “best gym in the world.”

WHY:

Yahoo Sports - Nolan said he expected to be more likely to finish Moicano as the fight went on.

HOW:

Yahoo Sports - Smith used timely takedowns and ground-and-pound to defeat Randy Brown.

MMA Fighting - Moicano opened with a body kick and takedown attempts, secured Nolan’s back and repeatedly sought submissions, including a rear-naked choke. Nolan defended, later reversed positions and finished with strikes.

Yahoo Sports - The UFC card also included wins by Cody Durden, Luana Santos, Lebosnoyani, Dakota Hope, Sezinando, Erosa, Zachary Reese, Kropschot, Piera Rodriguez and Szabova, by decision, knockout, TKO or submission as listed in the results.

Tom Nolan stopped veteran Renato Moicano by third-round TKO after a controversial referee stand-up. Daniel Cormier called the stand-up an error, but said it didn’t change the outcome. Jacobe Smith also beat Randy Brown by unanimous decision, improving his unbeaten record to 14-0.