Two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo led a wave of criticism after referee Dan Miragliotta stood up Renato Moicano in the middle of a dominant position at UFC Vegas 123. Tom Nolan used the restart to turn the fight around and finish Moicano by TKO in the third round.
A Back Take Cut Short in Round Two
The UFC Vegas 123 main event, held October 31 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, pitted Brazil’s Renato Moicano, ranked No. 12 at lightweight with a 21-8-1 record heading in, against Australia’s Tom Nolan, ranked No. 14 with a 12-1 record. In the second round, Moicano took Nolan’s back with a body triangle, landed strikes and hunted for a rear-naked choke for nearly a minute. Veteran referee John McCarthy, speaking the following Monday on the Weighing In podcast with Josh Thomson, estimated Moicano threw 20 to 25 strikes in the final minute before the stoppage. Miragliotta then stood both fighters up, ending the position.
The Rule at the Center of the Debate
Referees in MMA are allowed to stand fighters up when they judge that neither one is advancing position on the ground, to avoid a stalled exchange. That judgment call, made by Dan Miragliotta in real time, is exactly what John McCarthy and several fighters are disputing in this case, since Moicano was still landing strikes and actively hunting a submission when the restart came.
A Respectful Rivalry Before the Fight
Before the bout, Nolan had called Moicano one of his heroes. Moicano rejected the compliment bluntly, saying he wanted a win, not praise, with the fight coming close to the end of his UFC contract. That mix of respect and contract pressure added an edge to an outcome that ultimately favored the Australian.
Nolan Finishes the Job in Round Three
Back on the feet, Nolan hurt Moicano late in round two, then finished him with ground strikes at 1:28 of round three. The TKO extended Nolan’s win streak and, according to multiple MMA outlets, stands as the biggest win of his UFC career. Moicano, who held the higher lightweight ranking heading into the fight, takes a setback that reshuffles the division.
Cejudo, Burns and Borralho Sound Off
Cejudo, a former Olympic wrestler and two-division UFC titleholder, asked on X when referees would be held accountable for calls like this one, arguing the stand-up stripped Moicano of a position he had earned. Gilbert Burns, a former welterweight title challenger, reacted with disbelief, posting that no explanation could justify the call. Caio Borralho, a top-ranked middleweight himself, called it the craziest thing he has seen in the UFC, saying the restart rewarded Nolan for failing to escape back control. The three reactions landed within hours of each other, giving the officiating complaint unusual weight for an in-fight referee decision, and they came from fighters with no direct stake in the outcome of the Moicano-Nolan fight.
John McCarthy Says the Stoppage Tilted the Fight
McCarthy, a longtime UFC referee turned broadcast analyst, said Miragliotta likely wanted to see more action since the position had gone on for a while, but argued that reading the crowd is not a referee’s job. He made clear he was not accusing Miragliotta of bad intent, only of a misjudged restart at the wrong moment in the fight. He said Moicano was still working actively toward a finish and had earned his position, calling the stand-up completely unfair to one fighter. In his words, a referee gave a great advantage to Tom Nolan and took one away from Moicano, and officials should never create that kind of imbalance between two athletes. McCarthy added that he believes Miragliotta was trying to make the right call, not trying to hurt either fighter.
Neither the UFC nor Miragliotta has publicly addressed the criticism since fight night. What Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan do next will show up in the UFC results pages and will tell how much this outcome reshapes their standing in a lightweight division where a single ranked loss can change the next round of matchmaking.
The finish turned on a body triangle and a hunted rear-naked choke, a classic grappling exchange in MMA. Our ranking of MMA rash guards by brand compares the gear fighters train in for that kind of ground battle.
