Renato Moicano Reacts to UFC Vegas 123 Loss to Tom Nolan

Renato Moicano suffered a third-round TKO loss to Tom Nolan in the lightweight main event of UFC Vegas 123 on Oct. 31 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The bout featured a controversial turning point in the second round when Moicano controlled Nolan's back, only for referee Dan Miragliotta to order a standup reset. Moments later, Nolan rocked Moicano with a knee before finishing the fight via TKO in the following round.

Hours after the event, Moicano released a video on his YouTube channel to share his first reaction to the defeat. Despite the controversial restart in the second frame, Moicano made it clear that Nolan had nothing to do with the official's call. "First of all, I want to congratulate Tom Nolan and say that he is not responsible for the reset in any way," Moicano said, describing the 12-1 Australian lightweight as "an excellent guy."

Moicano admitted he went into the contest fully expecting to secure an early finish after studying film. "I was absolutely convinced I was going to take him down and submit him in the first round," Moicano explained. "I think I’m better than him on the ground, but I also wasn’t able to effectively execute my attacks.

I couldn’t get the job done. He trained his ass off and put up an excellent defense."

Expressing how tough it was to accept the loss as a competitor, Moicano noted he will take time to reflect before planning his next move. "So instead of thinking about what’s next, I’m going to take a step back and thank God for my life, thank God for my family, thank God for the opportunity to have fought," he said.