Drake Riggs Uncrowned Tue, November 3, 2026 at 5:51 PM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a spooky Halloween night of officiating for Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 123.
In his second straight UFC headlining bout, the seasoned lightweight veteran faced another rising prospect, after previously overcoming Chris Duncan in April with a second-round face crank submission. This time, it was Australia's Tom Nolan. It looked like Moicano was headed for a similar win at UFC Vegas 123, however the second round ultimately spelled disaster for the Brazilian, as referee Dan Miragliotta controversially stood Moicano up while he maintained dominant back control on Nolan with a tight body triangle. Moicano went on to lose by strikes early in the third round.
Speaking Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Moicano shared his in-the-moment reaction to Miragliotta's bizarre stand-up — and it was as blunt and mystified as what most viewers were likely thinking as the unprecedented moment unfolded.
"'What the f*** is going on?' I really thought that," Moicano told Uncrowned.
"I was shocked. I was surprised. But then I thought, 'OK, focus on the fight. Don't let this distract you.' But in the end, I was a little bit surprised."
Given Moicano possessed arguably the most dominant position a fighter can have, it was impossible not to be surprised by Miragliotta's decision. As soon as the stand-up occurred, momentum in the bout clearly shifted, with Nolan unloading strikes. A big knee then staggered Moicano to the floor, spiraling the fight out of his reach.
Moicano, 37, admitted he was still hurt from the knee strike heading into the third round, however he doesn't want the referee's mistake to take credit away from Nolan.
"I think it's fair to say [it got me off my game]. The fight was not easy," Moicano said. "Tom Nolan is a great striker. I don't have anything to complain about Tom Nolan. He did nothing wrong. He beat me fair and square. It's not his fault the referee made a mistake.
"He took advantage of the opportunity. He was the better striker on the night. He was finding his range, but you have to remember in the first round, I took him down very easily. I took him down, I got the back, and I spent a whole round trying to finish him. In the second round, same thing — finishing very fast in the beginning of the round, and imagine if the referee kept the position. Even though I was not hurting him, I was trying to finish him. I was trying to advance. Sometimes it's not easy, but I would have passed the whole second round on his back, and I would win the second round."
Since Saturday, the fight-changing moment has been a hot topic throughout the community, bringing many to question whether it was one of the worst referee stand-ups of all time. Even veteran official "Big" John McCarthy said Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he disagreed with Miragliotta's decision .
Amid the controversy, Nolan mentioned illegal back-of-the-head shots landing from Moicano. The Brazilian insisted that no illegal blows landed, but that he was instead targeting Nolan's nose and trying to wrap his punches around his face.
In the end, Moicano won't be protesting the result to the Nevada Athletic Commission.
"I don't want to complain. I wasn't doing the things that I need to do," Moicano said. "I needed to put him on the ground and smash him, and I did not. Even though it only took one minute to take him to the ground, he was doing the right thing to do. If you see his body position, he was doing everything to be on top of me, not to be on the ground. So, he was not trying to escape; he was just surviving, closing the hands and not letting me do anything. That was causing me trouble to finish him.
"In my mind, I always take people's backs, then beat them up and I finish the fight, and I could not do that with Tom Nolan. It was not a good performance from me."
The loss all but spells the end of any late-career Moicano title pushes. He's now 1-3 in his last four, and he said he has three fights left on his UFC deal. After that, the 37-year-old said he's probably done with MMA, and will turn to boxing if he stays in combat sports.
It's a tough situation, but Moicano isn't too broken up about it. As expected, the man with the second nickname, "Money," is more upset about missing out on more of that.
"I couldn't care less about Tom Nolan or Dan Miragliotta. It's just life, you know?" Moicano said. "Eventually, I'm not going to be fighting anymore. Eventually, I will move on. Eventually, I'm not going to even remember the fight. It is what it is. I'm not here to make friends or be nice to people. I'm here for money.
"The only thing that I get sad about is I got only half of the paycheck. That's my problem. That's tough on this f***ing sport. You put your life on the line, and sometimes because of other people's mistakes, you don't get paid. That's my problem with that."
Source: Sports