Islam Makhachev

For one fleeting moment in the first round of Saturday night's UFC 311 main event, it looked like we might witness one of the greatest upsets in MMA history.

Lightweight champ Islam Makhachev, who is considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the business at present, was suddenly on his butt, and Renato Moicano, who stepped in to fight the champion on just one day's notice, seemed to have put him there—at least, to those of us without the benefit of instant replay.

As it turns out, things weren't quite as they seemed.

A moment later, the UFC commentators were clarifying that Makhachev had slipped and not been knocked down, and soon after that, the champ was doing what he does best—tapping his challenger out with a D'arce choke.

"I always looking for finish," the Russian juggernaut told commentator Joe Rogan after his first-round submission win. "I not just talk."

The victory marked the end of a chaotic 24-hour saga for Makhachev. As of Thursday evening, he was set for a Saturday-night rematch with surging No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan. By Friday night, Tsarukyan was out of the fight with a back injury, and the champ's focus was locked on Moicano, who had originally been set to fight fellow lightweight contender Beneil Dariush on the main card.

"For me, no matter," Makhachev said when asked about the last-minute shake-up. "Who can make 155 [pounds]? Just step into the cage and stay in front of me."

You're going to encounter people who try to downplay Makhachev's win over Moicano. Don't listen to them! Yes, Moicano took the fight on short notice, but so did Makhachev, and the Brazilian is a tough fight under any circumstances. Heading into UFC 311, the longtime BJJ black belt was riding four-straight wins over high-level opposition and had proven he could finish pretty much anybody on the feet or on the mat.

Yet Makhachev cut through him like a chainsaw through butter, and he made history in the process. After two wins over Alexander Volkanovski, a defeat of Dustin Poirier, and now his win over Moicano, he holds the record for most title defenses in lightweight history, scooting past his coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and former two-division champ BJ Penn.

That just about seals his future induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Despite all the drama and history-making attached to Makhachev's short-notice beatdown of Moicano, however, he is probably not going to be the fighter most fans are talking about at the water cooler on Monday morning. No, that distinction will most likely go to bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili.

Georgia's Dvalishvili returned to action in the UFC 311 co-main event, for a title defense opposite the unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov—a friend and training partner of Makhachev, and cousin of the great Khabib. Heading into the fight, Nurmagomedov had built up so much momentum that he entered the cage as a hefty betting favorite, and in Rounds 1 and 2, it looked like he would prove the oddsmakers right, as he tagged the champ with some hard shots and denied any early takedown attempts. After those tough opening rounds, however, Dvalishvili began to crank up the pressure, mixing relentless takedown attempts with the kind of power punches we seldom see from him in the Octagon.

By the time the fifth round was over, the seemingly unbeatable favorite Nurmagomedov was visibly exhausted, and Dvalishvili deserved the victory. Thankfully, all three judges got it right and scored it for the champ.

"You guys know," Dvalishvili told Rogan after his win. "You know I'm training all the time. I am 'The Machine.'

"Umar is a tough fighter and he's good, but he called me old," he added. "The whole world was against me... I don't give a [expletive]. I believe in my hard work... I believe in myself."

The win over Nurmagomedov marked Dvalishvili's first defense of the bantamweight title, so he's still got a long way to go before he's in the same conversation as Makhachev in terms of championship legacy. However, it was arguably the most impressive performance of his career, against arguably his toughest opponent to date, and his win streak is definitely nothing to smirk at. It easily rivals Makhachev's.

After losing his first two fights in the Octagon, Dvalishvili is now on a 12-fight streak, including recent triumphs over a jaw-dropping list of former champs and title challengers in Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, Sean O'Malley, and now Nurmagomedov. That is truly the stuff of legend.

Sure, his fighting style isn't always pretty. Against Yan, for example, he attempted an absurd 49 takedowns and landed just 11, which didn't exactly endear him with fans. Yet if the crowd's reaction to his performance at UFC 311 was an indication, people are starting to appreciate his relentless style. His mid-fight showboating helped win them over, but there is no question that by the time his fight was over, nearly everybody watching his fight was prepared to put some respect on his name.

About time.

UFC President Dana White announced Friday that Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 on Saturday night.

Makhachev was originally supposed to face Arman Tsarukyan, but White said Tsarukyan contacted him Thursday night to tell him he would not be able to compete due to "significant back pain."

UFC 311 will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, marking the first time a UFC event will be held at the Los Angeles Clippers' new arena.

Moicano took to X following White's announcement to express confidence that he will upset Makhachev for the lightweight championship:

Makhachev also made a post in which he seemingly welcomed the challenge of facing a new opponent on short notice:

The 33-year-old Makhachev is 26-1 in his professional MMA career, and he is in the midst of a 14-fight winning streak.

Since beating Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight title at UFC 280 in 2022, Makhachev has twice defeated Alexander Volkanovski, and he scored a fifth-round submission victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June.

White referred to Makhachev as the best pound-for-pound fighter in UFC, making him Moicano's toughest opponent to date.

The 35-year-old Moicano owns a career record of 20-5-1, and Saturday will mark his first title fight in UFC.

Since losing to Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision at UFC 272 in March 2022, Moicano has reeled off four consecutive wins, beating Brad Riddell, Drew Dober, Jalin Turner and Benoît Saint-Denis.

White noted that Moicano has been preparing as an alternate opponent for Makhachev in case something happened to Tsarukyan, putting him in position to step in as a replacement.

Tsarukyan, 28, previously fought Makhachev on a UFC Fight Night card in 2019, and Makhachev won by unanimous decision.

Since then, Tsarukyan has won nine of his past 10 fights, including a split-decision victory over Oliveira at UFC 300 in April, which put him in line for a title shot.

Instead, the 22-3 Tsarukyan will have to wait his turn again, although it would make sense for him to challenge the winner of Makhachev vs. Moicano.

While a late change of opponent can be tough on the champion at times, Makhachev is listed as a -900 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Moicano is a +600 underdog.

In addition to the Makhachev vs. Moicano main event, UFC 311 will feature Merab Dvalishvili defending the UFC bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov, and Jiří Procházka clashing with Jamahal Hill in a light heavyweight bout.

UFC 311 will have quite the headline event.

UFC president Dana White revealed Wednesday that Islam Makhachev will fight Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of the UFC 311 card on Jan. 18. The fight will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles:

Makhachev will attempt to defend his lightweight title when he faces Tsarukyan, but that isn't the only headlining title bout on the card.

Merab Dvalishvili will go against Umar Nurmagomedov with the bantamweight title on the line.

It is a massive combination of fights early in the 2025 calendar year for UFC, and the showdown between Makhachev and Tsarukyan will be a rematch from their memorable 2019 clash when the former notched a hard-fought unanimous decision victory.

Makhachev has won nine straight since that meeting and will enter the January rematch on a 14-match winning streak. He counts a title win over Charles Oliveira and three title defenses against Alexander Volkanovski (twice) and Dustin Poirier in that streak.

Yet he isn't the only one with momentum ahead of UFC 311.

Tsarukyan has won nine of his last 10, including a split-decision victory over Oliveira.

"You can't say it's going to be an easy fight," Tsarukyan told Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie when discussing a possible rematch with Makhachev. "I try to think it's going to be easy for me, and I don't want to think it's going to be a decision. I want to finish him."

As for the co-main event, Dvalishvili also has plenty of momentum with an ongoing 11-fight win streak.

However, Nurmagomedov will be anything but a straightforward victory. After all, he is 18-0 as a pro and is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen.