The UFC has a Halloween main event with genuine stakes in the lightweight rankings. Brazil’s Renato Moicano, a former title challenger, faces Australian rising star Tom Nolan at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday 31 October, in a fight that has already seen the betting market change its mind.
Both men made weight at Friday’s official weigh-ins, according to Cageside Press, with Moicano coming in at 156lb and Nolan at 155.5lb, so the main event is on.
The young gun
Nolan, 26, is headlining a UFC card for the first time. UFC.com describes him as a top-15 contender on a five-fight winning streak since losing his promotional debut, with first-round finishes of Charlie Campbell and Victor Martinez and a decision over Fares Ziam, the win that lifted him into the rankings, according to CBS Sports. MixedMartialArts.com lists his record as 11-1 and his ranking as No 14 at lightweight.
UFC president Dana White described him as 23 when he handed him his contract in 2023, CBS Sports notes, a detail that has followed him around since; he is now 26 and has grown into one of the division’s more dangerous prospects.
He got this chance after Brian Ortega withdrew from a planned UFC 332 bout with Moicano, CBS Sports reports. Nolan has also said he has long studied and admired the Brazilian, which adds an extra edge to the occasion.
The veteran
Moicano, ranked No 12 according to MixedMartialArts.com, with a record of 21-7-1, has been here before. He fought Islam Makhachev for the title and owns wins over Benoit Saint Denis and Jalin Turner, according to UFC.com. His losses have come against elite names, including Makhachev and Beneil Dariush. After some setbacks, he got back on track in April by submitting Chris Duncan in the second round.
The market has swung his way during fight week. MixedMartialArts.com reports that Nolan opened as a narrow favourite with one US sportsbook on 24 October, but by midweek the prices had flipped and Moicano was the slight favourite. In other words, the bookmakers see this as close to a coin toss.
Rest of the card
The co-main event is a welterweight bout between Randy Brown and Jacobe Smith, a former Oklahoma State wrestler and Contender Series graduate who has taken the fight on less than two weeks’ notice, per UFC.com. The card also features a women’s bout between Yana Santos and Luana Santos, both on three-fight winning streaks, and the UFC debut of unbeaten Slovakian Lucia Szabova against Tainara Lisboa.
There is an emotional subplot on the prelims. Featherweight Julian Erosa, 37, has said this will be his final fight, win or lose, when he meets Jeong Yeong Lee, MixedMartialArts.com reports. On the scales, Francis Marshall came in two pounds over the featherweight limit for his featured prelim against Dakota Hope, according to Cageside Press.
What happens next
For Irish viewers, the prelims begin at 9pm on Saturday and the main card at midnight, with the main event likely to start in the early hours of Sunday 1 November (5pm and 8pm Eastern time respectively, per UFC.com). The clocks went back in Ireland last weekend, so check local listings for broadcast details.
Stylistically, it pits Moicano’s experience and submission threat against a younger opponent who has shown he can finish fights early. UFC.com notes Nolan’s only UFC defeat came in his very first appearance for the promotion, against Nikolas Motta, per Cageside Press.
A Nolan win would put the young Australian firmly in the lightweight conversation, one of the deepest divisions in the sport. A Moicano victory would show the veteran is still a stern test for anyone trying to climb the ladder, and keep him in the mix for bigger fights in 2027.
Sources
- UFC.com: Fight by fight preview, UFC Fight Night Moicano vs Nolan (October 2026)
- CBS Sports: Meet Tom Nolan, the rising Aussie star (October 2026)
- Cageside Press: UFC Vegas 123 Moicano vs Nolan weigh-in results (30 October 2026)
- MixedMartialArts.com: UFC Vegas 123 preview (October 2026)
Featured image: photo by Diego Corona on Unsplash.
Leave a Reply