UFC lightweight veteran Renato Moicano believes that the crowd booing led to the controversial standup in his UFC Vegas 123 main event fight.
Referee Dan Miragliotta shocked the MMA world when he stood up Moicano from back mount in his UFC Vegas 123 main event against Tom Nolan, which directly impacted the fight, as Nolan was able to knock Moicano out shortly thereafter.
While we still haven’t heard from Miragliotta himself and thus have no idea what was going through his mind when he made the boneheaded decision that he did, Moicano believes it was because the crowd was booing for action and Miragliotta gave them what they wanted.
Renato Moicano Thinks Crowd Influences Sketchy Standup
Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Moicano said that he thinks the crowd booing the fight led to Miragliotta standing the fighters up.
“I think people booing. You say that doesn’t play a factor, but I think it does. I think it does a huge factor, especially refrees, because they are human, and they are susceptible to emotions, and he saw the first one how it went, and the second round was the same thing. Maybe he thought, ‘OK, this is going to be a boring fight nobody is liking; let’s give people some entertainment.’ Dan, I think he made a mistake. I was in a very hard position to get. I’m not saying I would win the fight. I cannot say that, but I can say that was wrong,” Moicano said (via MMAjunkie.com).
Reanto Moicano Was Shocked by Standup
When asked what his initial reaction was to the standup, Moicano said that he was shocked.
“‘What the (expletive) is going on?’ If you see the frame, man, I was shocked, I was surprised, but then I thought, ‘Focus on the fight. Don’t let this distract you.’ But in the end I was a little bit surprised,” Moicano said.
The Brazilian has already said he won’t appeal the result of the fight, but every MMA fan who saw it knows that he didn’t get a fair shake, as the referee unfairly influenced the bout, which was very disappointing.
Renato Moicano Says Crowd Booing Led to Controversial Standup