Fighters Criticize Referee Over Controversial UFC Vegas 123 Stand-Up
Fellow UFC fighters including Henry Cejudo, Gilbert Burns, and Caio Borralho condemned referee Dan Miragliotta for ordering a stand-up while Renato Moicano controlled Tom Nolan's back at UFC Vegas 123.
· VILLAND PICK editorial
Referee Dan Miragliotta came under heavy fire from the MMA community following a controversial decision in the lightweight main event of UFC Vegas 123. During the second round, Renato "Money" Moicano had secured Tom Nolan's back with a locked-in body triangle, actively landing strikes and working toward a rear-naked choke. Despite the dominant position, Miragliotta stepped in and ordered both fighters back to their feet.
Moicano had controlled the majority of the opening two frames with his grappling. However, the momentum dramatically shifted following the restart. Nolan managed to hurt Moicano late in the second round before capitalizing in the third, finishing the Brazilian with ground strikes at 1:28 of Round 3 to secure a TKO victory.
The referee's intervention sparked immediate outrage on social media from fellow UFC fighters. Former two-division champion Henry Cejudo questioned the officiating standards, writing on X, "When are referees going to be held accountable for decisions like this?" Welterweight Gilbert Burns also voiced disbelief, posting, "My God, there's no way you could have done that!"
Middleweight Caio Borralho also argued that the stand-up essentially bailed Nolan out of a compromised position. "So now we reward a guy for not knowing how to get out of back control and we just stand them up? That's the craziest thing I've ever seen in the UFC," Borralho wrote.
Sources
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