Renato Moicano told Tom Nolan to keep his compliments. Nolan kept them, then took the fight anyway.
Nolan (12-1) stopped Moicano (21-8-1) at 1:28 of Round 3 in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The UFC’s own account called it a TKO. The finish belongs to Nolan, and it should. The conversation afterward belongs to the referee.
At one point in the fight Moicano had Nolan’s back, and the referee stood them up. Championship Rounds posted the clip on X and noted that Nolan nearly finished Moicano moments after the restart. DovySimuMMA reacted live, writing that the “TERRIBLE STAND UP ALMOST GOT MOICANO FINSIHED,” then followed up with “Shocking refereeing.” Ariel Helwani weighed in after the bout had ended: “I can’t believe this. Devastating turn of events for Moicano. Instantly flipped the fight. What are we doing?”
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I’ll say it plainly. Back control is the best position in this sport, and a fighter who earns it on a five-round main event shouldn’t lose it to a referee’s hand on his shoulder. Nobody’s arguing Nolan didn’t do the damage. He did. But Moicano got pulled out of the spot he worked to get, the fight swung the other way almost immediately, and he walks out with a loss that will feel like a robbery to him for a long time. That’s the kind of call I can’t stand, and I’d say the same thing if the names were reversed.
None of that erases what Nolan pulled off. He’s 12-1 now and just finished a lightweight with 30 pro fights on his ledger. The UFC’s account singled him out with a post during the second round, so he was building momentum before the third round arrived, and when the opening came he didn’t waste it. After the stoppage the promotion captioned the highlight with a line about easy money, which lands a little differently given fight week.
Fight week was all Moicano. Championship Rounds captured the exchange from the pre-fight media rounds. Nolan, polite to a fault, called Moicano one of his heroes. Moicano’s reply: “Fck that Tom Nolan. I’m gonna beat your fcking ass bro, stop that sh*t. I don’t want compliments I want money.”
He wanted money. Nolan got the win, and the hero worship looks a lot less naive tonight than it did Wednesday.
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Jacobe Smith Stays Perfect
The co-main went the full distance, and Jacobe Smith came out of it still unbeaten. The welterweight moved to 14-0 by beating Randy Brown (20-9) on the scorecards. Brown has been around long enough to make young fighters solve real problems, and Smith had to go all three rounds to get his hand raised. The official results didn’t list the scores. A clean zero after 14 fights at 170 pounds puts Smith in the conversation for a ranked opponent, though nothing in the sources points to a next booking.
The Rest of the Top of the Card
Cody Durden (19-11-1) took a decision from Ode’ Osbourne (13-10) at flyweight. Two veterans with a combined 54 pro fights, and neither could put the other away, so it went to the judges and Durden got the nod.
Luana Santos (12-2) beat Yana Santos (17-9) on the scorecards at women’s bantamweight. Same last name, different results column. Luana keeps stacking wins in a division that badly needs fresh contenders, and going the full distance against someone with 26 pro fights of experience is useful mileage.
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani (12-2) handed Farman Hasanov his first loss, ending things at 2:11 of Round 3. Championship Rounds reported it was a doctor stoppage, with Hasanov carrying a nasty cut over his eye. Hasanov arrived 5-0 and leaves 5-1, and a doctor’s call deep into the third round is a rough way to lose an unbeaten record. JPL earned it by opening the cut in the first place.
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Dakota Hope (12-2) outpointed Francis Marshall (10-4) at featherweight. Hope got the decision. No scores were published in the sources.
Quick Hits From the Rest of the Night
- Rodrigo Sezinando (10-2) stopped Theodor Berggren (8-5) at welterweight. The official time was 5:00 of Round 2, so the fight ended right at the horn.
- Julian Erosa (32-14) needed just 1:31 of Round 1 to stop JeongYeong Lee (11-4) at featherweight. That’s win No. 32 for Erosa, and he got it done before most people had settled into their seats.
- Zach Reese (11-4) beat Mickey Gall (7-8) on the scorecards at middleweight. Gall now has more losses than wins as a pro.
- Joe Kropschot (10-3) stopped Nick Klein (6-4) at 1:25 of Round 2 at middleweight.
- Piera Rodriguez (13-2) took a decision over Talita Alencar (8-2-1) at women’s strawweight.
- Lucia Szabová (13-0) stayed unbeaten by stopping Tainara Lisboa (7-5) at 3:20 of Round 3 at women’s flyweight. Two fighters walked out of the APEX with zeros intact on Saturday, Smith and Szabová, and she’s the one who finished her opponent.
What’s Next
None of the sources mention a next fight for Nolan or Moicano. Nolan has the bigger name on his record now and the momentum that comes with it. Moicano has a stand-up he’ll be replaying for weeks, plus Helwani’s question hanging over the whole thing. I’d like an answer to it before that referee works another main event.
Full Results
- Tom Nolan def. Renato Moicano (TKO, Round 3, 1:28)
- Jacobe Smith def. Randy Brown (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Cody Durden def. Ode’ Osbourne (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Luana Santos def. Yana Santos (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani def. Farman Hasanov (doctor stoppage, Round 3, 2:11)
- Dakota Hope def. Francis Marshall (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Rodrigo Sezinando def. Theodor Berggren (stoppage, Round 2, 5:00)
- Julian Erosa def. JeongYeong Lee (stoppage, Round 1, 1:31)
- Zach Reese def. Mickey Gall (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Joe Kropschot def. Nick Klein (stoppage, Round 2, 1:25)
- Piera Rodriguez def. Talita Alencar (decision, Round 3, 5:00)
- Lucia Szabová def. Tainara Lisboa (stoppage, Round 3, 3:20)
