Tom Nolan defends controversial standup call that overshadowed Moicano stoppage at UFC Vegas 123

Tom Nolan refused to accept that referee Dan Miragliotta handed him his biggest career win, maintaining that a controversial second-round standup at UFC Vegas 123 on Saturday did not ultimately change the outcome of his main-event stoppage of Renato Moicano.

The finish itself was not in dispute — Nolan stopped Moicano to claim the biggest victory of his MMA career. But the manner in which the fight reached its conclusion drew immediate scrutiny. In the second round, with Moicano controlling Nolan from a back body triangle — the same position that had dominated the opening round — Miragliotta stood the fighters up. Nolan hurt Moicano almost immediately after the restart, and the Brazilian was stopped shortly after, prompting widespread criticism of the officiating.

Speaking at his post-fight press conference, Nolan was direct about what he was actually communicating to Miragliotta in that moment. “To be clear, when I was talking to the ref, I wasn’t trying to ask for a standup,” Nolan said. “He was punching me in the back of the head. I was just trying to tell the ref. He was framing my head forward and throwing his left hand and hitting me in the back of the head. So I was just letting Dan know, ‘Hey, the rules are we can’t punch in the back of the head.’”

Nolan was emphatic that he bore no responsibility for Miragliotta’s decision. “I had five rounds to work. Had I lost that round because he was on my back, I was completely comfortable with that. I had nothing to do with the ref standing it up. That’s not my fault,” he said. “I’m in the middle of a fight; I just did what I was told. He said stand up, so I stood up.”

Beyond the procedural defence, Nolan also pushed back on the idea that the standup was decisive in a broader sense. He pointed out that Moicano survived into the third round and even secured another takedown before the finish. “Didn’t he take me down again after the standup? I’m pretty sure he took me down, and I’m pretty sure I turned my hips over, and then I pretty sure I finished him,” Nolan said. “I think the fight was trending that way.”

The argument will do little to fully quiet critics — the speed with which Moicano was hurt after the restart left many fans and fellow fighters furious with Miragliotta’s call. But Nolan’s position is clear: the result, he believes, was coming regardless.