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Legendary MMA official ‘Big’ John McCarthy heavily criticized referee Dan Miragliotta for his stand-up at UFC Vegas 123.
‘Big’ John McCarthy remains one of the expert voices in Mixed Martial Arts after transitioning from full-time official to analyst. McCarthy was one of the top voices of Bellator and remains an influential figure in the sport.
McCarthy was one of many MMA personalities keeping a keen eye on the UFC Vegas 123 main event last Saturday between Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan. During a Moicano-dominant grappling exchange, referee Dan Miragliotta opted to stand up him and Nolan, drawing heavy criticism from Joe Rogan and others.
Nolan went on to win by TKO to pick up the biggest victory of his career. Meanwhile, Miragliotta’s mid-fight decision continues to steal the headlines from Nolan’s highlight-reel finish.
‘Big’ John McCarthy criticizes longtime friend, referee Dan Miragliotta after UFC Vegas 123
During a recent episode of the Weighin’ In podcast, McCarthy reacted to Miragliotta’s officiating at UFC Vegas 123.
“When you take a look at what’s going through Dan’s mind at the time, I’m not too sure it’s so much the crowd; I think it’s in his head, he’s looking at, ‘I gave you a full round, five minutes, basically, of you having someone’s back,” McCarthy said of Miragliotta.
“I gave you that full round, and you weren’t able to finish him with that, and you’ve come out here and, let’s say I’ve given you now half a round … and you still haven’t finished this fight, I’m gonna make it to where, let’s change this up so we can work toward a finish.’ That’s not your responsibility. That’s not your job.
“Your job is to be fair, and the true factor in this is, you’re being completely unfair to one fighter, because he is doing things.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
McCarthy’s comments are the latest in a slew of public critiques of MMA officials in 2026. As of this writing, Miragliotta hasn’t explained his officiating at UFC Vegas 123 to the public.
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