Islam Makhachev submitted Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in the Intuit Dome to defend the UFC lightweight title. The Russian from Dagestan only needed one round to drop Moicano with a takedown and land a vicious D’Arce Choke to remain champion.
Moicano replaced Arman Tsarukyan, who backed out the day before the fight due to injury. With the win, Makhachev tied Kamaru Usman for the second-longest winning streak in UFC history (15) and can tie Anderson Silva at the top spot in his next fight.
Makhachev also holds the record for the most title defenses (four) in UFC lightweight history.
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It is unknown if Tsarukyan will get another shot at Makhachev or who is next for him. Moicano’s four-fight win streak has come to an end.
“If somebody wants this belt, come to the cage.”
— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2025
Islam Makhachev after his 15th straight victory 😤 #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/9agJwMZt9d
A scrap between two grapplers delivered as expected, as Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov put on a show for the UFC bantamweight title. In a fight with plenty of takedown attempts, Dvalishvili outworked Nurmagomedov to retain his title.
At first, it was a striking clinic. As the fight continued, Dvalishvili looked like the fresher competitor, and Nurmagomedov looked exhausted. That was especially true when Dvalishvili finally landed massive takedowns.
Dvalishvili landed 111 significant strikes and seven takedowns, while Umar landed 14 strikes and two takedowns. The former broke the record for the most takedowns in UFC history (91), passing Georges St-Pierre. He has now won twelve straight. Nurmagomedov’s unbeaten streak has come to an end.
It was announced Alex Pereira would defend his UFC light heavyweight title against Magomed Ankalaev, one of the toughest tests of his MMA career. Two former Pereira opponents, Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, faced off.
It was a slugfest, with both fighters landing crisp shots to the body and face. Prochazka dropped Hill down multiple times. The former landed vicious combinations in the third, putting Hill down and forcing him to retreat. Prochazka then won via referee stoppage.
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Prochazka, who fought for Ashly McGarity, fighting cancer, is now 2-2 in his last four fights. The only losses of his career have come against Pereira.
Jailton Almeida looked dominant against Curtis Blaydes but lost in March 2024. Since then, he has finished two fighters, beating Serghei Spivac via TKO. Spivac started the fight with takedowns, a signature of Almeida. However, Almeida recovered with a few takedowns of his own and hard shots that forced the referee to stop the fight.
Almeida called out Ciryl Gane after. Spivak is now 2-2 in his last four contests.
Former ONE champion Reinier de Ridder improved his game by submitting Kevin Holland in his UFC PPV debut. de Ridder looked sharp, dropping Holland with a takedown right away. He landed some ground and pound, and while Holland tried to shake him off, de Ridder transitioned to his back and forced him to tap.
de Ridder now looks to face a top contender at middleweight.
The Sporting News provided results from the entire UFC 311 fight card.
UFC 311 full card results
Main Card
- Islam Makhachev (c) def. Renato Moicano via D'Arce choke for the UFC lightweight title (4:05 into round one)
- Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision for the UFC bantamweight title (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Jiri Prochazka def. Jamahal Hill via TKO (3:01 into round three)
- Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via TKO (4:53 into round one)
- Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via rear-naked choke (3:31 into round one)
Prelims
- Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Zachary Reese via KO (3:04 into round one)
- Bogdan Guskov def. Billy Elekana via guillotine choke (3:33 into round two)
- Grant Dawson def. Carlos Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27, 30-27)
Early Prelims
- Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Tagir Ulanbekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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