Australia’s Tom Nolan has his breakthrough win.
And the fight world has a refereeing controversy to argue about.
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The talented lightweight stopped Renato Moicano with a brutal barrage of punches and elbows in his first UFC main event on Sunday (AEDT), securing a third-round TKO at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The finish came at 1min 28sec of the third round, extending Nolan’s UFC winning streak to six and taking his pro record to 12-1.
Nolan also pocketed a US$100,000 Performance of the Night bonus for the stoppage.
But it was referee Dan Miragliotta’s decision to stand the fighters up during the second round that became the major talking point.
With Moicano controlling Nolan’s back on the canvas and a body triangle locked around his waist, Miragliotta ordered both men to their feet.
The Brazilian lost his dominant position.
Nolan seized his chance and turned up the pressure.
Back in striking range, the Queenslander hurt Moicano with a knee and came close to finishing him before the end of the round.
The veteran survived to hear the horn, but the fight had swung dramatically.
The intervention drew fierce criticism online, with UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney declaring: “The ref won that one.”
Nolan, however, said afterwards he had simply followed instructions.
“He said, ‘Stand up,’ so I stood up,” Nolan told reporters at his post-fight press conference.
‘Big Train’ also explained that his earlier attempts to get Miragliotta’s attention were about what he believed were illegal strikes.
“To be clear, when I was talking to the ref, I wasn’t asking for a standup,” Nolan said.
He said he had been complaining about punches to the back of his head while Moicano controlled him on the ground.
Until the controversial reset, Nolan had been forced to show plenty of patience.
Moicano took him down in the opening round, moved onto his back and hunted the rear-naked choke. Nolan defended his neck and briefly regained his feet, only for the Brazilian to drag him back to the canvas.
Nolan began finding his striking range in the second, but another Moicano takedown put him back on the canvas.
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Then came the ref’s intervention.
He carried that momentum into the third round, hurting Moicano again before the Brazilian turned to his wrestling.
This time, Nolan reversed the position.
From on top, he unloaded with punches and elbows until Miragliotta stepped in to end the fight.
For Big Train, it was the biggest name yet on a growing list of victims — and a successful introduction to life as a UFC headliner.
Asked about his next move, the Aussie star left that decision with the promotion.
“This is the guy I wanted to fight,” Nolan said.
“Whatever the UFC want to do with me next.”
Moicano said after the fight that he was frustrated by the referee’s actions, but he isn’t going to ‘blame’ him.
“I was a little frustrated with the referee standing the fight up, too,” Moicano told MMA Fighting.
“I was a little frustrated, and frustration is a bad thing. But that’s it, it’s over. What can I do? There’s nothing I can do about it.”
“It (the intervention) caught me by surprise.
“When he said, ‘Stand up,’ I don’t remember him giving any warnings. And even if he had given a warning… I saw a lot of people saying that’s in the rules, that it’s a new rule. I’ve never heard of that.
“I’ve never heard of anyone being stood up from mount or from someone’s back.”
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Moicano says he won’t lodge an official complaint.
“I want him (the ref) to go f**k himself, him and everyone else,” Moicano said. “I don’t give a s**t.”
“The next person I need to blame is myself,” he continued. “I should have finished that guy.
“That’s the truth. I’m better than that guy, but he defended well. He had good defense. I’m not going to blame the referee…
“I’m not going to file any complaint. I just need to focus on improving myself for my next fights.”