Tom Nolan said Mateusz Gamrot’s name after beating Renato Moicano at UFC Vegas 123, as Heavy reported, and Mike Bohn backed the idea in his Sean Shelby’s Shoes column for MMA Junkie. Yahoo’s matches-to-make piece went a different direction and proposed Manuel Torres. I’m with Nolan and Bohn, and my reason comes straight out of the first two rounds of Saturday’s main event.
What actually happened at the Apex
For most of two rounds, Moicano (21-8-1, 13-8 UFC) had Nolan’s back with a body triangle locked. That position is about as good as it gets in MMA without a submission attached. Yahoo’s recap noted he wasn’t doing much damage from there, which is fair. Then referee Dan Miragliotta stood them up anyway, a call Yahoo described as questionable and Bohn called highly polarizing. Moments after the restart, Nolan cracked Moicano, the Brazilian barely made it out of Round 2, and Nolan hurt him again and finished it with punches at 1:28 of Round 3.
My take on the stand-up is simple. A body triangle from the back is a position you earn, and the person holding it is threatening the choke every second the other guy has to defend his neck. Standing it up because the damage isn’t flowing fast enough means the referee is scoring the fight instead of officiating it. I’d say that to Miragliotta’s face, politely.
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None of that is Nolan’s fault. Bohn wrote that Nolan was defending well before the restart and fought like someone about to drop two rounds, and that tracks. The 26-year-old Australian is now 12-1 overall, 6-1 in the UFC, and on a six-fight winning streak at 155 pounds. He took the opening he was given and did something violent with it, which is what you want from a fighter in his spot.
Why Gamrot and not Torres
The Torres fight is fun. Torres (17-4, 5-2 UFC) is a DWCS graduate who likes to trade, and Yahoo pitched it as a treat for fans. I believe that. I also believe it answers a question we already have the answer to, because Nolan just showed he can hurt a veteran on the feet. Torres is also coming off a loss to Rafael Fiziev at UFC Baku in June, so for Nolan that booking moves him sideways at best.
The open question after Saturday is whether Nolan can survive 15 minutes against an elite grappler without a referee stepping in to bail him out. Gamrot (26-5, 9-5 UFC) is the cleanest way to find out. He chains attempts together, he lives on top, and Bohn pointed out that he takes whatever fight he’s offered and has every reason to like his chances of repeating what Moicano did, with a different referee this time. If Nolan stuffs Gamrot or scrambles his way out, he’s a real lightweight contender and nobody gets to bring up Miragliotta again. If Gamrot rides him for three rounds, we learn the Moicano fight was the truer picture. Either result is useful, and the Torres fight doesn’t give you that.
As for Moicano, I’d hate to see matchmakers bump him down a tier over a loss that hinged on a stand-up. He was winning the fight on the mat until a referee decided he wasn’t allowed to keep doing that. Give him someone ranked near Nolan.
Smith vs. Malott is the right call
Yahoo got the co-main event right. Jacobe Smith (14-0, 5-0 UFC) wrestled Randy Brown into the canvas and took a unanimous decision on all three cards. That was Smith’s third Octagon appearance of the year, and Brown (20-9, 14-9 UFC) had 23 UFC fights under his belt coming in, so this was no soft landing. Once the fight hit the floor, Brown had no answers.
Mike Malott (15-2-1, 8-1 UFC) has won five straight, and both men are welterweights who look ready for a jump. Smith being this busy matters, too. A third fight this year with no finish but no real trouble tells me his camp trusts his conditioning, and the next step should come against someone with a UFC record as strong as Malott’s.
One flyweight aside
I can’t leave without mentioning Cody Durden’s twister attempt on Ode Osbourne, which came up just short early in their 125-pound fight before Durden took three 29-28 cards. Yahoo’s suggested follow-up is Imanol Rodriguez (8-0, 2-0 UFC), who has finished all eight wins, seven by knockout, most recently a front kick to the body and punches on Alden Coria at UFC 332. A grappler who goes hunting for spine cranks against a body kicker who has never seen the third round is a fight I’d pay for.
Book Gamrot for Nolan, and leave Miragliotta’s name off the assignment sheet.
