Nolan open to Moicano rematch but warns finish would come even faster second time

Tom Nolan (12-1) says he would welcome a rematch with Renato Moicano (21-8-1) after their disputed UFC Fight Night main event at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas on October 31, but the Australian is confident the result would be the same — and arrive sooner.

Nolan stopped Moicano in the third round of their UFC Vegas 123 headliner, but the finish was overshadowed by a contentious intervention from referee Dan Miragliotta, who stood the fighters up in the second round despite Moicano holding Nolan’s back. The stoppage drew widespread criticism from fighters and fans alike.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Nolan acknowledged the controversy but argued it did not change the ultimate outcome. “It’s very unfortunate what happened,” he said. “But we still had rounds three, four and five. There was no way he was gonna be able to do that for another three rounds.”

Nolan was clear that his willingness to run the fight back is not about calling Moicano out or disrespecting him, but about settling the debate on his own terms. “If he wanted it, in a heartbeat, I would give him that opportunity,” he said. “I honestly think it would probably go very similarly, but a lot earlier. Now that I’ve felt him, I think it’d be over pretty quickly. I don’t want to disrespect him or be out here calling him out. That’s not what this is.”

Moicano had controlled Nolan on the ground through much of the first two rounds before Miragliotta’s stand-up reset the dynamic in the fight. Nolan’s position is that even without the referee’s intervention, his opponent would not have been able to sustain that level of grappling dominance across five rounds.