Renato Moicano won't appeal UFC Vegas 123 loss after referee's disputed stand-up

Renato Moicano won't challenge his UFC Vegas 123 loss to Tom Nolan, even though he says referee Dan Miragliotta got a key call wrong. "I'm not going to file any complaint," he told MMA Fighting in a story published Sunday. MMA Fighting reports he also won't ask the Nevada commission to review the result or bar Miragliotta from his fights.

Nolan won Saturday's main event by TKO (punches and elbows) at 1:28 of Round 3, the UFC's results show. Late in Round 2, Moicano had Nolan's back with a body triangle locked in when Miragliotta stood them up, Yahoo's Uncrowned reported. MMA Junkie put Moicano's control time at more than seven minutes by then.

Nolan hurt him badly after the restart and nearly finished him before the round ended, according to Uncrowned. In Round 3, Moicano took Nolan down, but Nolan swept to the top and struck until Miragliotta stopped it.

What Moicano said

"It was the wrong decision, but it's not going to change anything," Moicano told MMA Fighting. He added: "When he said, 'Stand up,' I don't remember him giving any warnings." No outlet we read confirms or rules out a warning.

In a Portuguese-language video reported by SB Nation hours before that story, he asked, "Am I going to start a war?" To MMA Fighting he was blunter: "I want him to go f*ck himself, him and everyone else." He still blamed himself: "The next person I need to blame is myself." He added: "I should have finished that guy."

The reaction

Daniel Cormier said on the UFC's post-fight show that "a referee error ultimately casts a little bit of a shadow" over Nolan's performance. Other fighters criticised the call on X after the fight. "You absolutely cannot stand up a fight from back control with a body triangle," Joe Solecki wrote. Former double champion Henry Cejudo wanted what Moicano declined: MMA Sucka reports he said Moicano should appeal and Miragliotta should be suspended.

Nolan said at his post-fight press conference that he had spoken to Miragliotta about punches to the back of his head. He denied asking for a restart: "I wasn't looking for a standup." Nothing we read shows that exchange influenced the call, or that any foul was called. Moicano cleared him in the video: "I want to congratulate Tom Nolan and say that he's not responsible for anything."

We found no statement from Miragliotta or the Nevada commission, and no formal statement from the UFC, as of Sunday.

Would an appeal have worked?

We think an appeal would have had little chance. Nevada's rule says the commission generally won't change a result. The opening for referees is an "error in interpreting" the rules, which is hard to show over a judgment on how active a fighter was.

The Unified Rules say a referee "shall either stand up or break the fighters" when neither shows real effort to finish. They add that "simply maintaining" a superior position doesn't count. We couldn't confirm that this is the stand-up wording Nevada uses now.

The UFC says Moicano couldn't get to a rear-naked choke. Uncrowned says the action had slowed, while MMA Mania has him landing short punches. UFC commentator Laura Sanko said: "That is being active in that position." On X, Moicano himself said he "couldn't do any damage."

What's next

Moicano is now 21-8-1, according to MMA Junkie, and has lost three of his last four. That run includes a title loss to Islam Makhachev in January 2025. MMA Mania reports he has two fights left on his UFC deal and plans to test free agency afterwards.

He said in the video that he went to hospital and "everything is fine". He has no date for his next fight and is promoting his Money Moicano MMA event in São Paulo on December 5.

Nolan is 12-1 with six straight wins. The market moved against him before the fight. He opened at −125 and closed at +112, and Moicano closed at −133, a 55% chance. Nolan has no fight booked, but he named one: "I think [Mateusz] Gamrot would be a fun one."