Islam Makhachev, the Russian MMA professional retains the lightweight champ title with first-round submission against the Brazilian professional, Renato Moicano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Makhachev achieved his 5th successful title defense in the lightweight division and became the most successful lightweight division fighter in title fight wins in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
This article will focus on UFC 311, the replacement of Renato Moicano for Arman Tsarukyan against Islam Makhachev, and the latter’s dominance which continues with his title reign.
Islam Makhachev Retains Lightweight Title
Islam Makhachev has won 15 straight fights in his 17-fight UFC career. The Russian has not lost since October 2015 when he suffered a knockout to Adriano Martins in the first round.
Makhachev has been the champion since a submission win over Charles Oliveira in October 2022. They were supposed to fight each other again in October 2023 but the fight was canceled.
Renato Moicano was scheduled to face the No. 9-ranked lightweight champ Beneil Dariush but was penciled in late as a short-notice opponent for Makhachev, the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the UFC roster.
The matchup was introduced during the event’s eve on Friday morning after the original opponent of Makhachev, Arman Tsarukyan withdrew due to his back injury. Once Makhachev lost his balance shortly during the punching exchange with Moicano, he went back to the usual. He took the title fight on Saturday, quickly, locking up his popular D’Arce choke, the exact submission that he used before, to defend his title against Dustin Poirier. Moicano was swiftly tapped out. Currently, Makhachev has won 15 consecutive fights with eight submissions, tied for third-most in the lightweight history of UFC.
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Key Results from the Main Card
Here are the key results from the UFC 311 main card –
- Bantamweight Title Bout: Merab Dvalishvili defended the Bantamweight title in the co-main event against the Russian fighter Umar Nurmagomedov in the most thrilling five-round fight. This win was the first title defense secured by Dvalishvili after he became the champion last September while Nurmagomedov faced his first loss in MMA.
- Light-Heavyweight Clash: Jiri Prochazka overcame Jamahal Hill, both former light-heavyweight title winners, in the most dramatic fight with a third-round stoppage. They traded haymakers during the 205-pound tournament which thrilled their fans and the match ended as Prochazka got back in the winning column. He was dropped with a massive left hand during the opening round but his momentum paused in the second when his eye was inadvertently poked. Prochazka showed better quickness and head movement and got Hill with a strong combination during the third round, which ultimately required the referee to step in.
- Heavyweight Division: The main card also had Jailton Almeida improving to 8-1 in the first round with a technical knockout win over Serghei Spivac. He used his exceptional Brazilian jiu-jitsu to fight against Spivac and mount his offense.
- Submission Highlight: Reinier de Ridder secured a second consecutive win via rear-naked choke against Kevin Holland. The former two-weight champ did not allow Kevin to employ his striking and quickly took him down, locking the fight in the most iconic rare-naked joke.
- Preliminary Card Notable: The newcomer Azamat Bekoev picked up the highlight knockout during his short-notice debut and delivered the fight against Zachary Reese in the 185-pound fight.
