Dana White not in a hurry to condemn Dan Miragliotta.
The veteran referee caused a storm at UFC Halloween last weekend (Sat 31 Oct 2026) when he stood Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan During the lightweight main event at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Moicano had Nolan’s back with a body triangle locked in the second round and was looking for a rear naked choke. Despite Moicano having one of the most dominant positions in mixed martial arts (MMA), Miragliotta stopped the action and ordered both fighters to their feet.
Nolan immediately capitalized, hurting Moicano badly before finishing him with a TKO in the third round (watch the highlights).
“I knew it was coming,” White told reporters today. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what to think. In fact, we haven’t talked about it here (at UFC headquarters) at all. We haven’t discussed it.”
When asked if a referee should ever stand up fighters from full or back, White stated that simply controlling a dominant position may not be enough.
“I don’t think it’s about dominance,” White said. “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 you want to do it, some of these guys are so good that they’ll take their backs and drive three laps,” White continued. “The rules are if you don’t take damage, don’t raise your position, or try to end the fight, you get up.”
Moicano was visibly shocked by Miragliotta’s intervention and later said he did not recall being warned in advance. He also claimed that he had never seen a fighter stand up while checking his opponent’s back.
However, “Raha” has stopped blaming the referee for the loss. He congratulated Nolan and admitted that although he repeatedly gained back control, he was unable to inflict significant damage or break through the Australian’s defences.
“I had a terrible performance,” Moicano later wrote. “I was well trained, I was able to regain control, but I couldn’t make a mistake. He defended well.”
Click through for coverage and highlights for complete UFC Halloween results HERE.