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Tom Nolan scored the biggest win of his MMA career this past Saturday, but through no fault of his own, there was controversy.
Referee Dan Miragliotta served as the referee for Nolan’s UFC Vegas 123 headliner against Renato Moicano. It was clear that Moicano had the grappling advantage, while Nolan was in his element standing. Miragliotta directly impacted the outcome of the fight when he decided to stand the two fighters back up with Moicano in a dominant position. The problem is, Moicano wasn’t exactly stalling. In fact, the Brazilian veteran was looking for a rear-naked choke.
Shortly after Miragliotta’s call, Nolan dropped Moicano and finished the fight. Suddenly, a thrilling moment for Nolan became yet another referee controversy in MMA. Once the main event wrapped up and the post-fight interview was done, commentator and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier had some criticism for Miragliotta (via MMAFighting.com).
“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. “We saw since the very beginning in the striking, it was Tom Nolan’s world. He ultimately got the fight done by using his striking to get to the position to finish on the mat.”
Cormier then noted how hard Moicano worked to get to a position where he believed a submission could be in reach only for the referee to have a lapse in judgment.
“I’m being completely honest here guys, it’s not because I love grappling,” Cormier explained. “It is so difficult to get to that position. That is such a dominant position. While Moicano was maybe not punching him, he was trying to reach, trying to hand fight to try to get the chokes, that’s what you do.
“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. I don’t think you take those types of positions and change them. They’re just too dominant.”
Ultimately, the record books will say it’s Nolan’s sixth win in a row. Regardless of the consensus of Miragliotta’s decision-making, Nolan did exactly what he was supposed to do in that situation and the 26-year-old will now move on to bigger and better things. As for Moicano, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, as he’s hoping to gain some momentum before eventually testing free agency at some point down the road.
What’s your stance on Dan Miragliotta standing Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan up before the finish? Join in on the conversation in the comments below.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
