LAS VEGAS – Tom Nolan's job is to fight. It's not to referee.
That's why he didn't really think deeply about referee Dan Miragliotta's controversial decision to stand up the UFC Fight Night 292 main event midway through Round 2. Even reflecting on it after the fact, Nolan (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) says it's all a bit blurry.
"I'm in the middle of a fight," Nolan told MMA Junkie and other reporters during a post-fight news conference. "I just did what I was told. He said, 'Stand up,' so I stood up. I wasn't sitting there thinking, 'Oh, let's play on the mat.' I don't have any personal agenda toward it. I do what I'm told. The ref said, 'Stand up,' so I stood up."
Renato Moicano found Nolan's back multiple times in the opening 10 minutes. The standup marked
a pivotal moment int he fight, however, as nearly immediately thereafter Nolan dropped Moicano with a big strike. Nolan then went on to batter Moicano, and eventually get the TKO stoppage in Round 3.
Nolan did try to catch Miragliotta's attention just prior to the standup, but not for that reason. He said he felt Moicano was hitting him with illegal shots in the back of the head. That's why he was trying to attract Miragliotta's attention.
"To be clear, when I was talking to the ref, I wasn't asking for a standup," Nolan said. "He was punching me in the back of the head. I was just telling the ref. He was just framing my head forward and throwing his left hand and hitting me in the back of the head. I was just letting Dan know, like, the rules are we can't punch in the back of the head. If that wasn't a rule, that's fine. But it is a rule, so do something about it. Don't just watch him punch me in the back of the head. That was what I was saying to the ref.
"I said, 'Ref, he's punching me in the back of the head.' I'm fine with those shots on front, but don't punch me on the back of the head. There's a reason that's a dangerous place to hit someone. You can kill someone hitting someone there. That's what I was talking about. I wasn't looking for a standup. I had five rounds to work. If I had lost that round because he was on my back, I was completely comfortable with that. I had nothing to do with the ref standing it up. It's not my fault."
Nolan's victory was his sixth in a row. The win will elevate him into an even bigger matchup as he continues his ascent up the UFC lightweight ladder. Playing matchmaker for a moment, Nolan took a look at what options could be next.
"I think (Mateusz) Gamrot would be a fun one," Nolan said. "I think that would bring the best version of me out in my camp. I think that's stylistically a fun fight. But also, the UFC will tell me. I think they'll have a plan and they'll figure something out. I wasn't too focused going into this one like, 'OK, I'm going to call this person out or do this or do that.' It was for me, this was the fight. This was the fight I wanted to perform in and prove to the younger version of myself that I can come out here and beat a giant and I did. Right now, I'm just going to sit in this and enjoy it and we'll see what happens."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Tom Nolan reacts to Dan Miragliotta's UFC Vegas 123 standup, names 'fun' potential matchup
