UFC 311 will occur on Saturday, January 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. However, the main event was changed on Friday. No. 1 Arman Tsarukyan had to pull out of his previously scheduled title fight with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Instead, No. 10 Renato Moicano replaced Tsarukyan in the main event. The event will be broadcast from the Intuit Dome at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV. Makhachev is currently the favorite at -1100 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Let’s look at how the public is betting on this contest.
Betting Splits
Although Makhachev is a big favorite in this fight, he only gets 58 percent of the bets on the moneyline. Bettors are already showing some confidence in Moicano, as 42 percent of bets have been for him. But bettors are still confident that Makhachev will come out with a victory as 71 percent of the handle is on him.
Even though Makhachev is taking this fight on short notice, that isn’t anything new for the champion. Yes, two of his title wins were against former Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, but he beat him at UFC 294 on 10 days’ notice. He will only have a little more than a day to prepare for his next challenger, Moicano, but Makhachev always comes ready to fight no matter the opponent. Makhachev has finished seven of his last eight opponents and is riding a 14-fight win streak in the UFC.
Since the fight was announced, the odds have changed dramatically. Makhachev opened as a -600 favorite and has skyrocketed to -1250 in the first few hours. Moicano is the rightful underdog in this bout but is used to that. He won his last two fights as an underdog against Jalin Turner and Benoit Saint-Denis.
