Tom Nolan stuns Renato Moicano with brutal third-round knockout at UFC Vegas 123

Tom Nolan was up for the toughest challenge of his career as he took on veteran Renato Moicano in the headliner of UFC  Vegas 123 on October 31 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.

He rose to the challenge and secured a knockout victory over the veteran, leaving MMA fans stunned.

Tom Nolan knocks out Renato Moicano 

Nolan came into the bout riding a five-fight win streak, while Moicano had just one victory in his last outings, coming in April when he submitted Chris Duncan in the second round.

In the opening round, Moicano landed a good body kick, and Nolan answered with a great right hand. But the Brazilian slipped in on a level change and took ‘Big Train’s back in under 70 seconds. He held the Australian down with back control, but the 26-year-old eventually managed to stand up while carrying the former title challenger on his back. 

Moicano locked in a face crank from the back, and the two fell down, with the Brazilian still on Nolan’s back. The round ended with the veteran fighter dominating.

Moicano opened with a body kick in the second round.  In the clinch, the two separated and returned to the center, where Nolan landed a great head kick followed by a couple of strikes. However, the Brazilian immediately shut ‘Big Train’s momentum down by taking his back with more than 3:30 to go. 

Nolan constantly landed elbows to Moicano’s thigh, and the referee called out inactivity and made them restart on their feet. That changed the momentum. The Australian became aggressive, landing a head kick and then a knee that put the veteran down on the ground and hurt him. The 26-year-old followed with a barrage of strikes, but Moicano survived the round.

In the last round, Nolan landed a left head kick, followed by a knee that put Moicano down. The Brazilian managed to get to his back, but ‘Big Train’ reversed position and unleashed brutal ground-and-pound with elbows, finishing Moicano. The Australian secured the KO victory at 1:28 of the third round.

What's next for Tom Nolan 

In his octagon interview, Nolan asserted that he is up for any challenge the UFC puts in front of him, and he held back from calling out any other contenders. With the victory over Moicano, he will potentially enter the top 10 of the lightweight rankings and could ask for a matchup against anyone in the top 10.