UFC Vegas 123 results: Tom Nolan makes the most of controversial referee stand-up, knocks out Renato Moicano

It was UFC Fright Night for Tom Nolan, up until referee Dan Miragliotta decided to step in.

In Saturday night's UFC Vegas 123 main event, longtime UFC veteran and one-time lightweight title challenger Renato Moicano had the 26-year-old Australian in a bad position late in the second round, working with Nolan's back on the ground with a body triangle locked in. As the action slowed, Miragliotta decided to stand the fighters back up, which was essentially a "get out of jail free" card for Nolan, who took full advantage.

The 6-foot-3 Nolan landed a thunderous knee in the ensuing moments that hurt Moicano, nearly finishing him in the closing sequences of the round. It didn't take long into the third for "Big Train" to complete the job. After landing another knee, Nolan used vicious ground and pound, including massive elbows to Moicano's temple, to put the Brazilian away.

The end came at the 1:28 mark of the third round.

When asked if he was surprised that Miragliotta restarted them to standing in that second round, Nolan said he wasn't.

"Nah, I mean, you heard the crowd — they didn't love it," he said post-fight.

Then he saw a replay of his work on the big screen and was distracted by the knee that hurt Moicano.

"What a clean cross right, ohhhh," he said. "Bro, it's like we f***ing prepared for that. City Kickboxing, best gym in the world, let's go."

With the victory, Nolan (12-1) has now won six straight fights in the UFC's lightweight division, dating back to a mid-2024 stoppage of Victor Martinez. When asked what he thought of his performance, Nolan coughed up the game plan.

"We were confident the later it went, the more I'd be likely to finish him," he said. "That's why on the mat I didn't want to risk doing any stupid s*** and getting choked out. It might've been boring for you guys for like a couple of minutes, but I ended up knocking him out, so it ended up being f***ing sick."

When pressed if he'd like to call somebody out for his next fight, Nolan deferred.

"To be honest, not really," he said. "This was the guy I wanted to fight. I made a callout for the fight, and my job was to deliver tonight. This is my job right now, and I performed so, yeah — look, whatever the UFC wants to do with me next."

For Moicano (27-8-1), it's back to the drawing board after his impressive victory over Chris Duncan at the Meta Apex in April. The longtime veteran, who has two fights left on his contract, has now lost three of his last four in the UFC.

In the co-main event, Jacobe Smith showed why he believes he's the best pure wrestler in the UFC's welterweight division . Smith kept his perfect record intact by using timely takedowns, nearly nine minutes of Octagon control and strong ground-and-pound to out-point veteran Randy Brown on the scorecards.

The judges all saw it 30-27 in Smith's favor.

It's the first time the 30-year-old former collegiate All-American has gone the distance in a UFC fight, yet it was dominant from pillar to post. With the win his record improves to 14-0, while Brown, who has now lost four of his last five fights, drops to 20-9.

Check out complete UFC Vegas 123: Moicano vs. Nolan results below.

Lightweight: Tom Nolan def. Renato Moicano via TKO (elbows) at 1:28 of R3 | Watch finish

Welterweight: Jacobe Smith def. Randy Brown via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Flyweight: Cody Durden def. Ode Osbourne via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Women's bantamweight: Luana Santos def. Yana Santos via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Welterweight: Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Farman Hasanov via TKO (punches) at 2:11 of R3 | Watch finish

Catchweight (148 pounds): Dakota Hope def. Francis Marshall via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Welterweight: Rodrigo Sezinando def. Theodor Berggren via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of R2 | Watch finish

Featherweight: Julian Erosa def. Lee Jeong-yeong via KO (punches) at 1:31 of R1 | Watch finish | Erosa retires

Middleweight Zachary Reese def. Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)

Middleweight: Joseph Kropschot def. Nick Klein via submission (armbar) at 1:25 of R2 | Watch finish

Women's strawweight: Piera Rodriguez def. Talita Alencar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Women's flyweight: Lucia Szabova def. Tainara Lisboa via TKO (punches) at 3:20 of R3 | Watch finish