Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The state-of-the-art Intuit Dome plays host to UFC 311 as the first UFC pay-per-view event of 2025 takes place in Inglewood, California.Headlining the card is a battle for the undisputed UFC lightweight title as reigning champion and No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, Islam Makhachev puts his 155-pound title on the line against late replacement challenger Renato Moicano. The Brazilian stepped up on just one day’s notice after Makhachev’s original opponent, Arman Tsarukyan, was ruled out of the bout due to injury.The co-main event will also feature championship action, as Georgia’s undisputed UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili takes on undefeated Russian challenger, Umar Nurmagomedov.Follow the action throughout the night with Newsweek’s live fight night updates below.More news: UFC 311: Arman Tsarukyan Ruled Out, Renato Moicano Steps In To Face Islam Makhachev For Lightweight Title
Islam Makhachev and Renato Moicano face off at the UFC 311 ceremonial weigh-ins at Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California.
Islam Makhachev and Renato Moicano face off at the UFC 311 ceremonial weigh-ins at Intuit Dome, Inglewood, California.
UFC
Preliminary Card RecapThe night’s featured preliminary card bout produced something of a shock, as Brazil’s Raoni Barcelos handed bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott the first defeat of his career.Barcelos made good on his pre-fight promise that he would relentlessly pursue the takedown as he used his grappling skills to repeatedly take Talbott off his feet and nullify his striking power through the first two rounds.After being told he needed a finish in the final round, Talbott turned up the pressure and, in a wild final frame, both men traded back and forth on the feet and scrambled on the mat. Eventually, Barcelos found an opening for a takedown and moved into mount as he shut down the offense of the charging Talbott, then spent the remaining seconds of the fight raining down heavy ground and pound.Having reached the final horn, the result was a formality, with Barcelos earning scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-26 to claim his 19th career victory.
Also on the preliminary card, LFA middleweight champion Azamat Bekoev stepped in on short notice to make his UFC debut and announced his arrival in style with a vicious ground-and-pound knockout of Zachary Reese.After the action went to the mat, Bekoev found himself in Reese’s guard. The Russian, who stepped in to replace Sedriques Dumas on the card, then postured up and unloaded some heavy-duty ground and pound to render the Dana White’s Contender Series prospect unconscious and secure a statement win on his UFC debut.
Uzbekistani light heavyweight Bogdan Guskov claimed his third straight finish with a second-round submission of short-notice replacement Billy Elekana.Guskov was due to face Johnny Walker, but after the Brazilian contender was forced off the card, Elekana stepped in on short notice for his UFC debut. And while Elekana started well and went hunting for an early submission, he had no answer to Guskov’s heavy-handed striking.But, despite a relentless barrage of strikes from Guskov, it was his grappling skills that claimed the finish as he swapped strikes for submissions by locking up a guillotine choke to secure the win.
And in-form lightweight Grant Dawson added another win to his record with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Brazil’s Diego Ferreira.Dawson outworked Ferreira through all three rounds to earn a shutout victory on the scorecards, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 to the 30-year-old, who has now won 14 of his last 16 pro fights.After his victory, Dawson called for a fight with the man who missed out on competing on tonight’s card, lightweight contender Beneil Dariush, as he called for a bout between the pair at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12.
Early Prelims RecapThe early prelims saw all four fights go to the scorecards as the judges were kept busy during the first portion of the fight card.The featured early prelim saw Argentina’s Ailin Perez continue her impressive form to defeat Brazilian contender Karol Rosa by unanimous decision and extend her win streak to five, before celebrating her victory with her trademark twerk.
More news: How to Watch UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano – Live Stream, TV Channel, Fight CardTajikistan’s Muin Gafurov produced a minor shock as he outworked highly-touted Japanese prospect Rinya Nakamura in their bantamweight bout. Gafurov dropped Nakamura early and used his counter-striking smartly to earn a unanimous decision and hand Nakamura the first loss of his professional MMA career.
Also at bantamweight, Sweden’s Benardo Sopaj battled Ricky Turcios all the way to the scorecards to seal a unanimous decision win and claim the 12th win of his career.And in the opening bout of the night, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s flyweight protege Tagir Ulanbekov improved his record to 16 wins, two losses with a unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten American Clayton Carpenter.UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Moicano Official ResultsMAIN CARDIslam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano – for lightweight titleMerab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov – for bantamweight titleJiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal HillJailton Almeida vs. Serghei SpivacKevin Holland vs. Reiner de RidderPRELIMINARY CARDRaoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)Azamat Bekoev def. Zachary Reese via knockout (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:04Bogdan Guskov def. Billy Elekana submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:33Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)EARLY PRELIMSAilin 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)
