Nolan Stuns Moicano With Third-Round TKO in UFC Vegas 123 Main Event

Tom Nolan announced himself as a lightweight contender with the biggest win of his career, stopping Renato Moicano by third-round TKO in the UFC Vegas 123 main event at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The finish came at 1:28 of round three and extended Nolan's winning streak to six fights in his first UFC headliner. Moicano, the veteran Brazilian, controlled much of the early grappling, taking Nolan down in the first round and hunting a rear-naked choke from back control. But the fight turned in round two when referee Dan Miragliotta ordered a standing restart despite Moicano holding a dominant position — a call that drew sharp criticism afterwards, with journalist Ariel Helwani describing it among the worst stand-ups he could recall. Nolan hurt Moicano on the feet late in the round and finished the job with ground strikes in the third. Nolan, now 12-1 overall and 6-1 in the UFC, also collected a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus. In the co-main event, unbeaten welterweight Jacobe Smith dominated Randy Brown for a unanimous 30-26 decision on all three cards.