Tom Nolan was willing to lose rounds to survive Renato Moicano's chokes

Tom Nolan said he specifically prepared to defend Renato “Money” Moicano’s body triangle and was ready to endure extended periods in the position during their UFC Vegas 123 main event. Speaking to UFC News after his third-round stoppage victory, Nolan explained that he had a contingency plan if he could not escape Moicano’s back control: remain composed and avoid mistakes that could lead to a submission.Tom Nolan explains why he trusted his striking while defending Renato Moicano's body triangle at UFC Vegas 123 “I did a lot of work this camp on dealing with his body triangle, but obviously he’s elite there,” Nolan said. “The second part of the plan was, if I can’t deal with this, I need to be comfortable with staying in it and knowing I have 25 minutes to find the finish.” Moicano repeatedly took Nolan’s back during the opening two rounds and sought rear-naked chokes. Nolan said he understood the danger of making unnecessary movements against the Brazilian. “I know that Moicano snatches chokes when people make silly movements,” Nolan said. “So I was comfortable with, if I have to lose a couple of rounds, I know I'm going to win this on the feet. Um, to be honest, I thought it would even take a little bit longer for that to play out the way it did.” Moicano maintained back control with a body triangle in the second round until referee Dan Miragliotta controversially stood the fighters up. Nolan then dropped Moicano and nearly finished him before the horn. Nolan secured the technical knockout with punches and elbows at 1:28 of the third round, earning the biggest victory of his UFC career.“I just hope I can inspire some people.” Tom Nolan is proud of his work in his first main event and hopes to continue building toward the top of the division in 2027 #UFCVegas123 Complete Main Card Results ➡️ https://t.co/vzHKBaKuMh Official Scorecards: https://t.co/0jl6F5aVPo https://t.co/jBAtSPCaLu— UFC News (@UFCNews) November 1, 2026