Tonight’s UFC Vegas 123 event was headlined by a highly anticipated lightweight bout between Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan.
Moicano (21-8-1 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since submitting Chris Duncan this past April with a face crank. That triumph had snapped a two-fight losing skid for ‘Money’, who previously dropped fights to Beneil Dariush and Islam Makhachev (see that here). The Brazilian had gone 5-2 over his past seven fights prior to this evening’s headliner
Meanwhile, Tom Nolan (12-1 MMA) had entered the Octagon sporting a five-fight winning streak, with his most recent victory coming over Fares Ziam this past June. ‘Big Train’ entered the bout having only one career loss on his record, a setback which occurred in January of 2024 when he was TKO’d by Nikolas Motta in his promotional debut.
Tonight’s UFC Vegas 123 headliner proved to be a solid back and forth affair. Renato Moicano got off to a strong start, using his wrestling and jiu-jitsu to smother Tom Nolan in the opening round. The second round was going the same route in the opening minutes, however despite having back control and a body triangle, the referee decided to stand the fighters back up. That allowed Nolan to take control on the feet and after battering ‘Money’ in the late stages of round two, ‘Big Train’ promptly finished the fight early in the third round.
Official UFC Vegas 123 Results: Tom Nolan def. Renato Moicano via TKO (ground and pound) at of Round 3
Check out how the pros reacted to ‘Moicano vs. Nolan’ below:
oh dear god. Nolan turns and gives up his back mid takedown. Moicano already in peak position with 90 seconds off the clock.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 2026
10-9 Moicano
But has to be a confidence boost for Nolan to survive having a dry Moicano on his back for four full minutes.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 1, 2026
Feel like Moicano and scottish twisters would be a nasty combo. There’s no escaping that body triangle.
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 2026
That stand up was atrocious.
— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorWrites) November 1, 2026
What do you guys think about the referee taking away Moicano’s position?
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) November 1, 2026
Terrible ref
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 1, 2026
Sério q o Juíz fez isso com Moicano??
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 1, 2026
Miraglotta legit ruined this fight
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 2026
How do you guys feel about Nolan’s win? The referee standing them up when Moicano had the back changed the fight
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) November 1, 2026
That result is so shady. Big Dan completely botched this fight. Never seen anything like that. Commentators just ignoring it too, of course.
— Tom Taylor (@TomTaylorWrites) November 1, 2026
Terrible ref
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 1, 2026
He capitalize but the ref won that one crazy work standing that up change the whole momentum of the fight
— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 1, 2026
This is crazy 🤯🤦🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🙈
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 1, 2026
Who would you like to see Nolan fight next following his TKO victory over Moicano this evening in Nevada? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
