Nolan outsmarts Moicano's chokes to seal stunning TKO at UFC Vegas 123

Tom Nolan stopped Renato Moicano by TKO at 1:28 of the third round at UFC Vegas 123, ending the main event with punches and elbows after surviving repeated rear-naked choke attempts across the first two rounds. The victory stands as the biggest win of Nolan’s UFC career.

Speaking after the fight, Nolan explained that his camp had built a specific game plan around Moicano’s signature body triangle — and that the plan had two distinct layers. The first was to escape. The second was to accept the position entirely.

“I did a lot of work this camp on dealing with his body triangle, but obviously he’s elite there,” Nolan said. “The second part of the plan was, if I can’t deal with this, I need to be comfortable with staying in it and knowing I have 25 minutes to find the finish.”

Moicano dominated the grappling exchanges in the opening rounds, repeatedly securing back control and hunting for the choke. Nolan said he recognised that unnecessary movement was the real danger in those moments.

“I know that Moicano snatches chokes when people make silly movements,” Nolan said. “So I was comfortable with, if I have to lose a couple of rounds, I know I’m going to win this on the feet. To be honest, I thought it would even take a little bit longer for that to play out the way it did.”

The turning point arrived late in the second round. Referee Dan Miragliotta controversially stood the fighters up while Moicano held back control with a body triangle — a decision that immediately shifted the dynamic. Nolan capitalised, dropping Moicano and nearly finishing him before the horn.

The third round told the rest of the story. Nolan pressed forward on the feet, landing the punches and elbows that forced the stoppage and confirmed what his corner had prepared for: that patience on the ground would eventually create the finish standing up.