'Terrible ref': Fighters react to Tom Nolan's controversial TKO of Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 123

Tom Nolan emerged victorious from the UFC Fight Night 292 Halloween headliner on Saturday against Renato Moicano.Nolan (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) got the signature result of career thus far at Meta APEX in Las Vegas with a third-round TKO triumph over Moicano (21-8-1 MMA, 13-8 UFC) to extend his winning streak to six and put himself in position for another notable step up in the lightweight division. However, it was somewhat marred by controversy with a questionable standup by referee Dan Miragliotta that shifted the momentum of the fight.Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Nolan beating Moicano at UFC Fight Night 292.In for a treat 🎃@MoicanoUFC vs Tom Nolan[ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/iti7lpllUc— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2026Who gets it done? 👀Moicano vs Nolan starts RIGHT NOW! #UFCVegas123pic.twitter.com/3VEGr7pKRH— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) November 1, 2026oh dear god. Nolan turns and gives up his back mid takedown. Moicano already in peak position with 90 seconds off the clock.— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 202610-9 MoicanoBut has to be a confidence boost for Nolan to survive having a dry Moicano on his back for four full minutes.— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) November 1, 2026Neither is backing down 👊@MoicanoUFC & Tom Nolan are going back and forth![ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/72gWKyBe9w— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2026BIG DAN IS THE WORST WHEN IT COMES TO CROWD INFLUENCE HOLY FUCK WAS THAT BAD…TOOK AWAY BACK MOUNT AND NOW MOICANO WNOUT TO LOSE THE FIGHT BECAUSE OF IT #UFCVegas123— Dan Tom (@DanTomMMA) November 1, 2026TOM NOLAN IN RD2 👀[ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE NOW on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/4SgYNZYcet— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2026Wow the ref almost took the fight from him— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) November 1, 2026What do you guys think about the referee taking away Moicano’s position?— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) November 1, 2026How did you feel about Dan Miragliotta standing up the fight here?[ #UFCVegas123 | LIVE on @paramountplus ] pic.twitter.com/L2IsbGK2Km— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount) November 1, 2026Freaking referee! 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️ omg it’s no way he did that! #UFCVegas— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) November 1, 2026Dan Miragliotta just may have cost Moicano the fight with that stand up. That's insane. #UFCVegas123— Matthew Wells (@MrMWells) November 1, 2026That's fucked up— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) November 1, 2026Terrible ref— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) November 1, 2026He capitalize but the ref won that one crazy work standing that up change the whole momentum of the fight— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) November 1, 2026Fans go wild for Tom Nolan's victory over Renato Moicano at #UFCVegas123 👏Thoughts?(via @jeroguerra10) pic.twitter.com/TkmUtD2GcB— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 1, 2026Tom Nolan ties Quillan Salkilld and Arman Tsarukyan for the longest active UFC win streak in the lightweight division with his sixth consecutive win. #UFCVegas123— Michael Carroll (@MJCflipdascript) November 1, 2026Nolan rewarded for stalling the fight. End of story. This is the type of refereeing you see in third world countries with refs wearing jeans and flip flops. Not a ranked UFC fight. https://t.co/M1Leaulcju— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 1, 2026Absolutely insane decision. Bad for Moicano. Bad for Nolan, too. Now this is all everyone will be concerned with #UFCVegas123https://t.co/OdFvpvplba— Nolan King (@mma_kings) November 1, 2026🤦‍♂️ https://t.co/H37H48we7A— Jean "Lord" Silva (@Jeansilvamma96) November 1, 2026AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIETom Nolan DELIVERED in his first main event!#UFCVegas123pic.twitter.com/p5jQMWy0mf— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2026congratulations Herb Dean and every other ref who made mistakes this year, Dan Miragliotta has now locked down The Worst Call of 2026— Alexander K Lee (@AlexanderKLee) November 1, 2026Imagine if in football the refs could just throw a flag and say “they ran the ball too much and the other team can’t stop it, loss of down and 15 yard penalty”. Thats the equivalent of standing up a fight from back control in MMA.#UFCVegas123— Joe Solecki (@JoeSolecki) November 1, 2026So now we reward a guy not knowing how to get out of the back control and we just stand them up? This is the craziest thing I have ever saw in UFC!— Caio Borralho (@BorralhoCaio) November 1, 2026On the back with a Body triangle and being stood up will unfortunately be the story of this fight instead of how good Nolan was #UFCVegas123— Damien Brown (@beatdown155) November 1, 2026Dan Mirgliotta should be investigated or lose his job as a referee. You absolutely cannot stand up a fight from back control with a body triangle. Unacceptable. Referees need to answer for their horrible decisions and performances. #UFCVegas123— Joe Solecki (@JoeSolecki) November 1, 2026Congrats ton Nolan you’re a beast!— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) November 1, 2026This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: 'Terrible ref': Fighters react to Tom Nolan's controversial TKO of Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 123