MMA

Islam Makhachev closed out UFC 311 with a first-round submission win over Renato Moicano to defend his UFC lightweight championship from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

It turned out to be a pretty short day for the champion at the office.

Moicano actually stunned Makhachev early in the fight with a punch that briefly put him on the floor. That was apparently enough for Makhachev to start looking for a finish.

The champion took down his opponent and immediately went to work on the D'Arce Choke that drew the tap from the challenger.

Makhachev's dominance continues to define the lightweight division. He now has five consecutive title defenses since he claimed the title in 2022 with a submission win over Charles Olveira.

He added to his legend by his willingness to take on a last-minute opponent change. Makhachev was supposed to see Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from the fight early Friday morning due to a back injury.

Moicano was willing to step in on late notice and Makhachev was willing to defend his belt against a different opponent.

The 33-year-old could continue to build his case as one of the best lightweight champions of all time, but he has even bigger goals in mind. He teased a pursuit of a second championship belt before he calls it a career.

"I don't know. It's not my job, but it's my goal," Makhachev told TNT Sports. "I'm not going to leave this sport without a second belt. This is my goal."

That would most likely mean a move up to the welterweight division where Belal Muhammad is the current champion.

Makhachev went on to say that he's not really interested in fighting Muhammad. They are friends and he isn't thinking about retiring at this point. But it's certainly fun to think about whether Makhachev would be able to go up and add another championship to his resume.

For now, another bout with Arman Tsarukyan could certainly be on the horizon. He has a four-fight win streak that includes victories over Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.

Putting together a championship fight once his back heals makes a lot of sense.

Merab Dvalishvili proved the doubters wrong and successfully defended his UFC bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 311 from Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Both Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov put on a fun first round. The champion and challenger came out of the gates swinging and established a frenetic pace. It was a big right hand from Nurmagomedov that drew the attention, though.

Dvalishvili earned his belt as a relentless wrestler, but that wasn't in his early game plan. The champion engaged with Nurmagomedov in a kickboxing match that saw him on the short end of more exchanges than not.

Dvalishvili's wrestling got a chance to shine in the third round. A more varied attack opened up opportunities for him to get the upperhand and he seemed to win the third round.

Dvalishvili's vaunted cardio took over as his biggest advantage in the fourth round. He overwhelmed an exhausted Nurmagomedov to take the penultimate round and set up a fifth-round that felt like it would crown a champion.

The champion punctuated his performance and showcased his gas tank by taking Nurmagomedov down late in the fifth round. The Machine looked like he could have fought for another few rounds after the bout:

Dvalishvili earned respect as a champion with the win. It's his first title defense since winning the title with a unanimous decision win over Sean O'Malley.

Dvalishvili didn't have much time to celebrate that victory. He was pushed to make his first title defense against the rising star in Nurmagomedov just four months after his landmark victory.

"Originally I wanted to come back in March after six months, especially after my title fight first time, and I wanted to enjoy it," Dvalishvili told reporters ahead of the fight. "... But once I hear the UFC needs me, I stepped up and Dana (White) said yes. I go to the office and I said, 'OK, I will step up. I'm a company man, let's do it."

The UFC didn't do the 34-year-old any favors pairing him up with the 29-year-old Nurmagomedov. His opponent was a perfect 18-0 heading into the fight with a lot of buzz as the next big thing in the division.

Nurmagomedov's cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov, went 29-0 with three title defenses in his storied career. The unbeaten record isn't an accomplishment that Umar will now share with Khabib.

That doesn't mean that he won't become a champion eventually, though. This is really only his second fight against a top tier fighter in the bantamweight division. A unanimous decision win over Cory Sandhagen was really his first fight against a top fighter.

For now, he's not quite ready to be a champion. That distinction belongs to Dvalishvili. He might not have the well-known name and family, but he's proven himself as the top fighter in the division with a winning streak that now includes 12 wins in a row.

It's the end of an era in UFC.

Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman announced his retirement on Friday after a 14-year career within the organization.

"I'm hanging up the gloves in the UFC," Weidman said. "I'm no longer going to be fighting for the organization."

Weidman joined UFC in 2011 and quickly went 9-0 before defeating Anderson Silva to take the middleweight title in 2013. He defended the title three times before losing it to Luke Rockhold in 2015.

He struggled following the loss to Rockhold and a broken leg in 2021 put his career in jeopardy. Weidman found his way back to the Octagon and fought three more times following the injury.

He finished his career with a 16-8 overall record, with his final win coming on March 30, 2024 against Bruno Silva. His final fight was a knockout loss to Eryk Anders on Dec. 7, 2024.

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.

Mackenzie Dern gained redemption against Amanda Ribas, securing a submission victory at the 4:46 mark of the third round at UFC Vegas 101 on Saturday.

Dern lost to Ribas in 2019 by unanimous decision during a UFC Fight Night.

Dern secured her second consecutive win after overcoming back-to-back losses by unanimous decision and TKO.

The strawweight fighter's professional record improved to 15-5, with seven of those wins coming via submission.

Ribas, who had never been submitted before Saturday, fell to 12-6 after tapping out to Dern's stellar armbar.

With both fighters holding one win and one loss against each other, MMA legend Conor McGregor is calling for a third and final fight to determine who will emerge victorious.

Dern will undoubtedly have her sights set on bigger prizes, as the No. 6 ranked strawweight will look to challenge for the belt and potentially take it from the 25-3 Zhang Weili.

César Almeida delivered a first-round knockout against Abdul Razak Alhassan on Saturday at UFC Vegas 101.

Improving his professional record to 7-1, the 36-year-old landed a devastating left hand, earning his fifth career knockout.

Almeida endured significant punishment before turning the tables at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, tucking his chin and delivering a knockout at the 4:16 mark of the first round.

Razak Alhassan holds a career record of 12-7, with all 12 victories coming by knockout, solidifying his reputation as one of the most dangerous fighters in the middleweight division before being dropped by Almeida.

"I knew when I accepted the fight it was a dangerous fight," Almeida said in his post-fight interview, per MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn. "I knew I needed this fight to grow in the division and get up there (in the rankings). He almost finished the fight, and I got back and found the KO. I am so happy. Cesar 'The King' is back, motherf***ers."

The former Dana White's Contender Series participant secured his second consecutive victory with the knockout after defeating Ihor Potieria via unanimous decision at UFC 307.