1 Nov 2026
Tom Nolan comes back to stop Renato Moicano in Vegas
Australian Tom Nolan survived two rounds of Moicano's grappling, then knocked him down twice and stopped him with ground-and-pound in round 3 of the UFC Vegas 123 main event.
Tom Nolan passed the biggest test of his career. The 26-year-old Australian stopped Renato Moicano with punches in the third round of the UFC Vegas 123 main event at the Meta APEX on Halloween night.
THE FIGHT
Moicano made it hard for him. In the first round he took Nolan down, locked in a body triangle and hunted the rear-naked choke for most of the round.
In the second, Moicano got Nolan's back again, but the referee stood them up. That changed everything. Moments later Nolan landed a high kick and a knee to the head, dropped Moicano and poured on ground-and-pound. Moicano just survived the round.
In the third, a knee put the tired Moicano down again. Nolan took full mount and landed punches and elbows until the referee stopped it at 1:28.
THE STAND-UP DEBATE
The stand-up is the big talking point. The rules let a referee restart the fight when neither fighter is really trying to finish, but Moicano was punching and looking for a choke when it happened. Appeals in Nevada rarely succeed.
WHAT'S NEXT
Nolan is now 12-1 and has won six fights in a row. A ranked opponent should be next. Moicano, 37, has lost three of his last four and was fighting out his contract.
Fighters in this story