UFC Vegas 123 witnessed a dramatic ending, with Tom Nolan securing a third-round TKO victory over veteran Renato Moicano. But despite the Aussie showing a brilliant performance, the fans turned their attention to the main event bout’s referee, Dan Miragliotta, for seemingly ruining Moicano’s chances of winning with his controversial call.

Following a competitive first round that Moicano edged, Tom Nolan started to up his volume going into the second round. The Aussie landed a powerful body kick that visibly hurt Moicano. However, the Brazilian managed to escape the beatdown by securing a takedown and wrapping Nolan in a tight body lock.  

Nolan started elbowing Moicano’s thigh to escape from the position, but ‘Money’ kept threatening a rear-naked choke from the back mount.

Then something truly bizarre happened. 

Sensing a lack of action from Moicano, referee Dan Miragliotta intervened and broke the body-triangle position. This allowed Tom Nolan an easy escape from the position.

Under MMA rules, an official can decide to break a grappling position if they sense a noticeable lack of action. Although Moicano wasn’t battering Nolan with shots from the back mount, he was threatening a submission, which is considered active engagement on the ground.

However, Miragliotta seemingly didn’t think that was enough to keep the fight on the ground. The crowd immediately expressed its disagreement and started booing the referee.

The official’s intervention changed the entire course of the fight.

‘Money’ tried to regain his position by shooting for a takedown, but ate a big knee! In the ending sequence of the second round, Nolan unleashed a barrage of shots and also secured a takedown, coming really close to finishing the fight. He eventually did in the third round. 

The referee’s decision angered the fans, and they didn’t mince their words, calling out Dan Miragliotta for essentially ruining Renato Moicano’s chances of winning the fight at UFC Vegas 123.

Fans rage against UFC Vegas 123 referee for controversial call in Renato Moicano fight 

One angry fan chimed in and wrote, “Fire that ref. That is ridiculous.” Another one followed, “Fire the ref, Moicano just lost from that one decision.” A different fan commented, “F— this ref.”

Another user just couldn’t believe that the referee stood Moicano up from a dominant position: “Ref had money on that fight. No way you’re standing someone up in a body triangle.”

Fans argued Moicano could’ve submitted his opponent or finished the round dominantly, something he couldn’t achieve because the official decided to break his well-secured body lock in the second round.

Daniel Cormier, who commentated on the fight, also pointed this out during the post-fight show. ‘DC’ mentioned that the referee shouldn’t have stood the fighters up because Moicano had fought hard to secure that position.

The backlash against Dan Miragliotta continued, with one fan writing, “Quite literally ruined the fight,” while another criticized the official, saying, “Completely f—ed up the fight. What was that.”  Another very angry fan wrote, “WORST REFEREE EVER. F—K DAN. IM SO MAD RIGHT NOW.”

Adding to the fans’ anger, this isn’t the first time Miragliotta has found himself at the center of controversies.

One such notable instance occurred during the Matt Frevola vs. Kyle Nelson fight at UFC Vancouver 2025. Nelson scored a tremendous knockdown in the first round and almost finished Frevola. However, Dan Miragliotta stepped in to stop the fight three seconds before the round ended.  

Miragliotta later claimed that he had heard the bell, which prompted him to stop the fight prematurely. However, he ended up restarting the bout. Nelson went on to win via unanimous decision, but the official’s glaring error cost him a potential knockout victory over Frevola. At that time, fans severely criticized Miragliotta.

But that’s not all when it comes to Dan Miragliotta’s controversial refereeing.

At UFC 277, the veteran referee came under intense scrutiny after he abruptly stopped the Sergei Pavlovich vs. Derrick Lewis showdown. The Russian dropped the ‘Black Beast’ with punches, urging Miragliotta to stop the bout. However, Lewis got up quickly and immediately protested the stoppage, believing it was premature.

The UFC Vegas 123 main event is just another example of Dan Miragliotta’s years of controversial officiating. For Renato Moicano, however, the recent loss could prove to be more damaging than ever.

The loss against Nolan marked the Brazilian’s 3rd defeat in 4 fights, and he would also drop in the rankings. Plus, before fighting Nolan, Moicano said he’s contemplating leaving the UFC after completing the remainder of his current contract, which has three fights left. 

The recent loss could definitely affect his decision if he eventually decides to exit the promotion.