What You Need To Know About The UFC 311 Fight Card
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 17: (L-R) Opponents Islam Makhachev of Russia and Renato Moicano of … [+]
Tonight, Saturday, January 18, the UFC is at the Intuit Dome for the UFC 311 fight card. The main event, which came together on weigh-in day, sees UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev against Renato Moicano. Meanwhile, in UFC 311 co-headliner, UFC bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili puts his title on the line against Umar Nurmagomedov. Below is some of the important information you need to know about tonight’s UFC 311 fight card.
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Main Event – Islam Makhachev Vs. Renato Moicano
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia is seen on stage during the UFC 311 … [+]
An injury knocked Arman Tsarukyan out of the UFC 311 main event:
“UFC and UFC fans, I regret to inform everyone that the news is that I had to pull out of UFC 311 with a back injury is true,” Tsarukyan wrote on Instagram. “This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my fighting career.
“I would like to thank the UFC for understanding and I look forward to competing for my first UFC Championship in the future. Thank you all for your support.”
UFC CEO Dana White said of the change on the same platform, “Around 1 a.m. we received a call from Arman Tsarukyan, who informed us he was experiencing significant back pain and due to the injury he feels like his is not healthy enough to compete, he’s out of the fight. So, stepping in to face Islam Makhachev for the title is Renato Moicano.”
Moicano was booked on the UFC 311 PPV card against Beneil Dariush. Dariush will not compete at UFC 311.
UFC Tonight: Islam Makhachev Reacts to Arman Tsarukyan Being Out And Renato Moicano Stepping In at UFC 311
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: Islam Makhachev of Russia is seen on stage during the UFC 311 … [+]
White shared Makhachev’s reaction to the last minute change in fight plans.
“When we called Islam Makhachev, he said, ‘Brother, I am the champion. I fight anybody, I don’t care,’” White said on the UFC 311 weigh-in show.
“There were lots of options,” White said of the change in plans. “The best-case scenario is a guy who is already on the card, who is already in shape, who is already making weight, who’s had a training camp, and when you really look at it — and the press conference yesterday — who better than Moicano to step up and take this opportunity?”
“What does this title represent?,” Makhachev wrote on Instagram. “It means you are the best in the world and if you are the best in the world, it doesn’t matter who’s going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let’s do this!”
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Pay-Per-View Card
Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
UFC Tonight: UFC 311: Fight Card Prelims
Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
Billy Elekana vs. Bogdan Guskov
Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card Early Prelims
Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez
Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card Date
Saturday, January 18, 2025
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card Location
Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card Time And How To Watch And Stream
Early prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET – ESPN+
Prelims: 8:00 p.m. ET – ESPNews
PPV Card: 10 p.m. ET – ESPN+ PPV
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card Main Event – Islam Makhachev Vs. Renato Moicano
Makhachev, a protege of ex-UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, (26-1) has compiled a 15-1 record with the UFC, racking up 10 finishes (seven submissions, three knockouts) and five decisions. Makhachev captured the vacant UFC lightweight title in October 2022 with a submission win over former UFC 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira.
Makhachev has defended his crown three times since defeating Oliveira. His first two title defenses were a decision win and knockout of then-UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. In his most recent outing, Makhachev submitted former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 302.
Renato Moicano (19-5-1) is riding the first four-fight winning streak of his UFC career. The 35-year-old opened his run with the promotion at 3-0 record between 2014 and 2017. Since then, Moicano has been up and down. He followed that by going 5-5 over his next 10 outings before beginning his current unbeaten streak in 2022.
Moicano is 6-1 dating back to June 2021. His only loss during that time was a March 2022 unanimous decision setback to former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in a 160-pound catchweight battle.
UFC Tonight: UFC 311 Fight Card C0-Main Event – Merab Dvalishvili Vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 17: (L-R) Opponents Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia and Umar … [+]
Merab Dvalishvili (18-4), a long-time training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling stepped into the spotlight of the promotion’s 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision win over then-champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306.
The 33-year-old Dvalishvili joined the UFC in 2017 as much-hyped prospect. At the time, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.
Dvalishvili did not have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. Falling to Frankie Saenz by decision, and the second, to Ricky Simon, via submission. In September 2018, things clicked in place for the Serra-Longo Fight Team product, and he has not lost since.
Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Prior to his matchup against O’Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, and Henry Cejudo. The win over O’Malley stretched his winning streak to 11 straight. Even with one of those victories coming at a catchweight of 140 pounds, Dvalishvili holds the record for longest winning streak in the division at 10, beating Sterling’s mark of nine wins in a row.
Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) is the brother of Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is currently the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.
The 28-year-old joined the UFC in January 2021 with a submission win over Sergey Morozov. Since that win, he has picked up another five victories in the UFC most recently beating former interim UFC title challenger Cory Sandhagen in a five-round main event scrap in August.
The win over Sandhagen answered any questions about Nurmagomedov’s upside. Before the fight there was some criticism that Nurmagomedov had not defeated anyone of note. However, his dominant win over the then No. 2 ranked bantamweight put that talk to rest.
Nurmagomedov looked the part of a future champion against Sandhagen. He went five rounds, never lost his cool, stayed within himself, and stuck to a strong game plan.
UFC Tonight: The UFC 311 fight card is the first pay-per-view event on the 2025 UFC schedule. Stay tuned for more coverage from UFC 311, as well as results, reactions, recaps.
