Referee Miragliotta's baffling standup hands Nolan momentum in UFC Vegas 123 main event

Referee Dan Miragliotta sparked widespread criticism at UFC Vegas 123 after standing up Renato Moicano from a dominant back-control position in the second round of the main event, a decision that appeared to shift the fight’s momentum toward Tom Nolan, who went on to finish Moicano in the third round at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

At the point of the stoppage, Moicano had a body triangle locked on Nolan’s back and was actively working for a rear naked choke while landing punches. With boos audible from the Apex crowd, Miragliotta intervened and ordered the fighters to their feet. Nolan subsequently scored a knockdown and closed the fight with ground and pound.

UFC Hall of Famer and broadcast analyst Daniel Cormier was unsparing in his assessment on the post-fight show. “I just hate that something like that — I don’t care what anybody says, a referee error ultimately casts a little bit of a shadow over what was a beautiful performance by Tom Nolan,” Cormier said. He added that the back position Moicano had secured was simply too dominant to warrant a standup. “You can stop a lot of positions but I just don’t think a ref should take anybody out of mount ever, should never take anybody off of the back like that. They’re just too dominant.”

UFC commentator Laura Sanko echoed that view, arguing that Moicano was doing exactly what a fighter in that position should do. “That is being active in that position,” Sanko said. “You can’t sit there and punch all the time. Getting to that spot is advancing your position in grappling.” Sanko also noted that former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, watching from the crowd, visibly reacted to the call.

UFC analyst Din Thomas raised the question of whether Moicano might appeal the outcome to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, though he acknowledged that standups of this nature fall entirely within a referee’s discretion, making any formal challenge highly unlikely to succeed.

Nolan’s victory deserves recognition on its own terms — Cormier praised his striking throughout — but the manner in which the fight turned has ensured Miragliotta’s intervention will remain the defining talking point of the evening.