While Dan Miragliotta‘s actions during the UFC Vegas 123 headliner sparked an intense debate over popular opinion versus what constitutes the correct officiating decision, Dana White appears to have made up his mind. The referee’s intervention, which handed Renato Moicano a controversial defeat, triggered widespread backlash, with many arguing that Miragliotta had denied the Brazilian a potentially decisive advantage.

“I knew this was coming, I don’t know,” White initially confessed when a reporter sought his view on the Moicano-Nolan controversy.

“I honestly don’t know what to think. We actually haven’t talked about it here (at UFC headquarters) at all. We haven’t discussed it.”

Reflecting on the fight, White soon offered a much clearer stance.

“I don’t think it’s about having the dominant position,” he stated. “It’s: Are you doing damage, and are you trying to win the fight? Are you doing damage, and are you trying to win the fight?

“Because if that’s what you want to do, some of these guys are so good they could take your back and just ride it out for three rounds. The rules are, if you’re not doing damage, advancing your position, and trying to finish the fight, you get stood up.”

White’s comments follow the regulations under United Rules of MMA.

“The referee shall either stand up or break the fighters when neither fighter is able to or fails to demonstrate real, significant, and/or sustained effort to advance towards finishing the fight by any method,” it reads.

“Simply maintaining what may be perceived as a superior position will not be considered an effort to advance towards finishing the fight nor grounds for a guaranteed opportunity to maintain that position.”

The controversy centers around referee Dan Miragliotta’s decision during the the bout between Moicano and Nolan. Entering the headliner as the odds-on favorite, Moicano pinned Nolan in the second round and got onto his back.

Maneuvering a body triangle, Moicano soon locked his legs tightly around his opponent’s waist.

While he proved his dominance, Moicano seemingly failed to impress Miragliotta. The match official felt he wasn’t active enough or landing hard punches to secure a decisive finish. As a result, Miragliotta stepped in and stopped the action, forcing both fighters to get back onto their feet.

For Nolan, Miragliotta’s decision couldn’t have come at a better time. In the next round, he lunged at Moicano with kicks and punches and won by stoppage.

The ending sparked huge backlash. Many fans and experts felt the referee saved Nolan, who was on a five-fight winning streak, by penalizing Moicano.

Acknowledging a “terrible performance,” Moicano, meanwhile, admitted that he wasn’t able to hurt Nolan and congratulated the American for a superb win. He reportedly refused to file an appeal against the decision.

Nolan, meanwhile, offered his own version. Refuting any influence on Miragliotta’s decision, the lightweight contender instead suggested that he was pointing toward the hits he received on the back of his head.

It seems Miragliotta has yet to make any comments on the controversy.

For Moicano, it’s yet another instance when a referee’s decision drew attention to his fights.

When the rules become Renato Moicano’s biggest opponent

On December 12, 2020, Moicano suffered a first-round stoppage loss to Rafael Fiziev. The bout faced scrutiny after Moicano blamed the referee for stopping the fight prematurely.

Moicano returned two years later, stepping in on just four days’ notice to face Rafael dos Anjos in March 2022, where he suffered a unanimous decision loss. The fight was severely criticized, as many felt it should have been stopped early instead of leaving Moicano to absorb severe punishment.

Yet Moicano’s latest defeat came under entirely different circumstances, with the Brazilian losing despite holding a dominant position.

Dana White’s commentary, meanwhile, remained the one true constant.

“It could’ve been stopped a couple times,” White said when asked about the loss to dos Anjos. “It’s just that Moicano is one of those guys that’s so tough. It could’ve been stopped, and then at the end of the fifth round, he started coming on. RDA was probably happy there wasn’t one more round of that fight.”

For Moicano, the setback is very upsetting since it is closely tied to his future.

“I don’t know (how I feel about that),” he said, reflecting on his future in the UFC. “We have to wait and see. After I fight this (fight), I fight the next, and I see how I feel and how much money I’m making in the UFC. If the money is good, if it’s worth it, nice, let’s go. If not, I’ll have (other) stuff to take care of (me), you know?”

While reports suggest he has three more fights left in the UFC, Moicano has expressed interest in working as a free agent.

Coming off a second-round submission victory over Chris Duncan in April, which appeared to put his career back on track, the loss to Nolan may have given Moicano even more reason to venture into uncharted territory.