A wild PPV week is in the books. After a late change to the main event on Friday, UFC 311 still delivered an epic main card with four finishes and a grueling five-round title fight. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev retained his crown against short-notice opponent Renato Moicano while bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili grinded out a tough decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov to retain his title.
Makhachev was originally scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event, which would have been a rematch of their first meeting in 2019. But Tsarukyan suffered a back injury during his final weight cut and was forced to withdraw. Moicano stepped in for the title shot he never thought would come but could not capitalize after being taken down and having Makhachev lock up a d’arce choke.
Meanwhile, the co-main event was full of drama. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov played high-speed chess over the first three rounds with the challenger doing everything he could to keep the champion at bay. But all the energy use came back to bite him as Nurmagomedov looked physically gassed in the final two rounds as Dvalishvili poured on the pressure. He went home with a sweep on the scorecards to retain his title. Nurmagomedov revealed after the fight that he suffered a broken hand in Round 1.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 312 in Australia.
UFC 311 fight card, odds
- Islam Makhachev (c) def. Renato Moicano via first-round submission (d’arce choke)
- Merab Dvalishvili (c) def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Jiri Prochazka def. Jamahal Hill via third-round TKO (punches)
- Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via first-round TKO (punches)
- Reiner de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via first-round submission (rear naked choke)
- Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Azamat Bekoev def. Zachary Reese via first-round TKO (punches)
- Bogdan Guskov def. Billy Elekana via second-round submission (guillotine choke)
- Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- 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)
- Benardo 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)
