UFC lightweight veteran Dan Miragliotta had strong words for referee Dan Miragliotta following his TKO loss to Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 123.
Although Moicano was dominating the fight on the ground and had back control, Miragliotta stood the fighters up, and Nolan came back to knock Moicano out.
Many in the MMA community condemned Miragliotta for his bogus decision to stand the fighters up despite Moicano having a dominant, fight-ending position. But Moicano is taking the high road.
Still, he’s not happy about Miragliotta’s performance in the fight.
Renato Moicano Comments on Bogus Standup at UFC Vegas 123
Speaking to MMAFighting.com’s Guilherme Cruz, Moicano shared strong words for Miragliotta, though he ultimately blames himself for the loss, and he will not file an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission despite the controversial standup directly impacting the outcome of the fight.
“I want him to go (expletive) himself, him and everyone else. I don’t give an (expletive),” Moicano said.
“The next person I need to blame is myself. I should have finished that guy. That’s the truth. I’m better than that guy, but he defended well. He had good defense. I’m not going to blame the referee. Even though, like I said, that change frustrated me, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not going to file any complaint. I just need to focus on improving myself for my next fights.
“I was a little frustrated with the referee standing the fight up, too. I was a little frustrated, and frustration is a bad thing. But that’s it, it’s over. What can I do? There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Renato Moicano Was ‘Surprised’ By Standup
When asked if he was confused by why Miraglitota stood the fight up, Moicano said he was “surprised” by the referee intervening in the bout, given that he said he did not hear a warning to work before the referee decided to stand the fight up and give Nolan a puncher’s chance on the feet, which he took full advantage of with a third-round knockout win, the biggest win of his MMA career to date.
“It caught me by surprise. When he said, ‘Stand up,’ I don’t remember him giving any warnings. And even if he had given a warning… I saw a lot of people saying that’s in the rules, that it’s a new rule. I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never heard of anyone being stood up from mount or from someone’s back. It was the first time I’d ever seen it. I was surprised, but I decided to keep going because I thought, man, what can I do? I thought about complaining, but then I told myself, listen, focus on the fight. But I clearly lost my focus. I was clearly frustrated, and I got caught with some shots afterwards. I came back for the third round and I wasn’t in a good place, but that’s it. There’s not much else to say. It was the wrong decision, but it’s not going to change anything. I lost, that’s it.”
Renato Moicano Has Strong Words for Referee Dan Miragliotta