Renato Moicano ignores referee’s failure to take the high road after suffering a controversial defeat to Tom Nolan in the UFC Vegas 123 main event.
The Brazilian lightweight lost to Nolan at UFC Vegas 123 on Saturday, but the result sparked debate after referee Dan Miragliotta made a questionable decision during the second round.
Moicano had Nolan’s back and appeared to be working toward a rear-naked choke when Miragliotta stood both fighters up. Nolan took advantage of the reset, landed several damaging shots and eventually stopped the former title challenger in the third round.
The referee’s decision attracted criticism from several fighters and members of the UFC broadcast team, including Daniel Cormier. However, Moicano has refused to make Miragliotta the focus of his post-fight reaction.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Moicano praised Nolan while admitting that he expected to win the fight. He also explained that he had planned to dominate his opponent on the ground.
“All respect to Tom Nolan, an excellent guy,” Moicano said. “I thought I was going to beat him because I had watched [his] videos. I thought I would take his back very easily, and I thought I would be making another video today, a celebration video. … We make plans, we want things to happen, but things don’t always happen the way we want them to. What am I going to do? Get angry at the world? Curse out the referee? Start a war?”
Moicano later admitted that Miragliotta’s intervention frustrated him, especially because he did not remember receiving any warning before the referee stood the fighters up.
“I was a little frustrated with the referee standing the fight up, too,” Moicano said. “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.”
Moicano also explained that the referee’s decision caught him by surprise because he had never experienced a situation where an official stood fighters up from such a dominant position.
“It caught me by surprise,” Moicano said of Miragliotta’s intervention. “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. It was the first time I’d ever seen it. I was surprised, but I decided to keep going because I thought, man, what can I do? I thought about complaining, but then I told myself, listen, focus on the fight. But I clearly lost my focus.
“I was clearly frustrated, and I got caught with some shots afterwards. I came back for the third round and I wasn’t in a good place, but that’s it. There’s not much else to say. It was the wrong decision, but it’s not going to change anything. I lost, that’s it.”
Despite his frustration, Moicano believes he should take responsibility for the defeat rather than blame the referee. He admitted that he had opportunities to finish Nolan but failed to capitalize on them.
“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. Even though, like I said, that change frustrated me, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not going to file any complaint. I just need to focus on improving myself for my next fights.”
Moicano has now lost three of his last four fights, a difficult run for a fighter who previously challenged for the UFC lightweight title. He has also expressed interest in completing his UFC contract before testing free agency.
Moicano has not announced a date for his next UFC appearance, but he remains focused on improving rather than dwelling on the controversial defeat.
