The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Los Angeles, California, for UFC 311. Two title bouts are at the top of the card, and this event is stacked with former champions, contenders, and rising stars. Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was scheduled to fight Arman Tsarukyan. However, on Friday afternoon, UFC CEO and President Dana White announced that Tsarukyan could not fight due to back pain. No. 10 Renato Moicano would now face Makhachev in the main event.
In 2020, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired as the UFC Lightweight Champion with an undefeated 29-0 record. But just because his active career as a competitor is over doesn’t mean he is finished making a significant impact in the sport. He has played a massive role in the development of Islam Makhachev. But Makhachev is close to making history and surpassing his teacher—Nurmagomedov. Khabib had four title wins; if Makhachev can beat No. 10 Renato Moicano, he will sit alone atop the lightweight mountain. No fighter has had five or more title wins in the promotion history.
As great as “The Eagle” was, his protege may be better. Makhachev would have the most title defenses among UFC Champions in their current divisions. He has shown weakness along the way, as he was in a war in June against Dustin Poirier, but Makhachev always finds a way to come out on top. Makhachev has had three finishes and four title wins in the last two-and-a-half years. Also, he didn’t just beat anyone. He beat three first-ballot future UFC Hall-of-Famers: Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, and Poirier.
Moicano is 12-5 in the UFC but has won his last four fights. He has 10 submissions in his career but knocked out his previous two opponents, Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint-Denis. He was initially slated to face No. 9 Beneil Dariush on this card. Although it is on one day’s notice, this is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Makhachev is a massive -900 favorite in this contest, while Moicano is +600 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Makhachev’s cousin and teammate, No. 2 Umar Nurmagomedov, is 18-0 in his MMA career and is challenging Merab Dvalishvili for his Bantamweight title in the co-main event. Nurmagomedov is 6-0 in the UFC and has never lost a round in the promotion. He earned a shot at gold after beating Cory Sandhagen in August. But he is up against his toughest test when he faces the champion. Dvalishvili is riding an 11-fight win streak and beat Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September to win the title.
Dvalishvili has beaten a former UFC champion in his previous four bouts. This is an incredible matchup of two well-rounded fighters. Although Nurmagomedov is a great challenger, surprisingly, he is the favorite in this contest at -278. Dvalishvili is a +225 underdog in this fight as the defending champion.
The unbelievable action doesn’t stop there. In the third fight from the top, two former UFC champions, No. 2 Jiri Prochazka and No. 3 Jamahal Hill, will face off in a three-round light heavyweight bout. Both fighters are coming off a knockout loss to current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. Prochazka has lost two of his last three fights but has only been beaten by one opponent in the UFC. Hill is -125, while Prochazka is +105 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Check out the full card 14-fight card below.
Main Card | 10 p.m. ET | ESPN+ PPV
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| (C) Islam Makhachev vs. #10 Renato Moicano Main Event: Lightweight Championship | 26-1 (15-1 UFC) vs. 20-5-1 (12-5 UFC) | Lightweight | -900 vs. +600 |
| (C) Merab Dvalishvili vs. #2 Umar Nurmagomedov Bantamweight Championship | 18-4 (11-2 UFC) vs. 18-0 (6-0 UFC) | Bantamweight | +225 vs. -278 |
| #2 Jiri Prochazka vs. #3 Jamahal Hill | 30-5-1 (4-2 UFC) vs. 12-2 (6-2 UFC) | Middleweight | +105 vs. -125 |
| #6 Jailton Almeida vs. #7 Serghei Spivac | 21-3 (7-1 UFC) vs. 17-4 (8-4 UFC) | Heavyweight | -470 vs. +360 |
| Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder | 26-12 (13-9 UFC) vs. 18-2 (1-0 UFC) | Featherweight | +110 vs. -130 |
Prelims | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN+
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos | 9-0 (3-0 UFC) vs. 18-5 (7-4 UFC) | Flyweight | -1050 vs. +675 |
| Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana | 16-3 (2-1 UFC) vs. 7-1 | Middleweight | -380 vs. +300 |
| Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira | 22-2-1 (10-1-1 UFC) vs. 19-5 (10-5 UFC) | Lightweight | -245 vs. +200 |
Early Prelims | 6 p.m. ET | ESPN+
| Matchup: | Records: | Weight Class: | Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook: |
| Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev | 8-1 (2-1 UFC) vs. 18-3 | Middleweight | +164 vs. -198 |
| Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez | 18-6 (7-3 UFC) vs. 11-2 (4-1 UFC) | W Bantamweight | -250 vs. +205 |
| Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov | 9-0 (3-0 UFC) vs. 19-6 (1-2 UFC) | Bantamweight | -575 vs. +425 |
| Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj | 12-4 (2-2 UFC) vs. 11-3 (0-1 UFC) | Bantamweight | +210 vs. -258 |
| Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter | 15-2 (4-1 UFC) vs. 8-0 (2-0 UFC) | Flyweight | -325 vs. +260 |
