Tom Nolan made the most of his first UFC main event. The Australian lightweight stopped former title challenger Renato Moicano with punches and elbows at 1:28 of the third round on Saturday night at Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

It was the biggest win of Nolan's career. He has now won six straight fights and improved to 12-1. Moicano fell to 21-8.

Moicano is a longtime lightweight contender who once fought for the title. Nolan beat him in his first UFC fight at the top of a card.

Surviving the early storm

Moicano is known for his rear-naked choke and he went looking for it right away. He took Nolan down in the first round and spent long stretches on his back. Nolan fought off the choke attempts to reach the end of the round.

The second round started the same way. Nolan landed a head kick and some punches, but Moicano dragged him down again and locked in a body triangle.

Then came the turning point. Referee Dan Miragliotta stood the fighters up even though Moicano was in a dominant position. Nolan immediately dropped Moicano and nearly finished him before the horn.

The finish

Nolan picked up right where he left off in the third. Moicano tried one more takedown, but Nolan swept him, landed on top and hammered away until Miragliotta stopped it.

Nolan out-landed Moicano 69 to 9 in significant strikes and scored the only knockdown of the fight.

Elsewhere on the card

Unbeaten welterweight Jacobe Smith took the co-main event on two weeks' notice. He beat Randy Brown 30-26 on all three cards to improve to 14-0.

Brazil's Luana Santos won a unanimous decision over Yana Santos in a matchup of top-10 bantamweights. It was her fourth straight win.