Tom Nolan scores the biggest victory of his career by knocking out former title challenger Renato Moicano in the main event of UFC Vegas 123.<\/p>\n
Tom Nolan was up for the toughest challenge of his career as he took on veteran Renato Moicano in the headliner of UFC<\/a>\u00a0 Vegas 123 <\/a>on October 31 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n He rose to the challenge and secured a knockout victory over the veteran, leaving MMA fans stunned.<\/p>\n Tom Nolan knocks out Renato Moicano\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018Big Train\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moicano locked in a face crank from the back, and the two fell down, with the Brazilian still on Nolan\u2019s back. The round ended with the veteran fighter dominating.<\/p>\n Moicano opened with a body kick in the second round. \u00a0In 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 \u2018Big Train\u2019s momentum down by taking his back with more than 3:30 to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nolan constantly landed elbows to Moicano\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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 \u2018Big Train\u2019 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.<\/p>\n