Islam Makhachev extended his winning streak to 15 matches with an effortless D’arce submission in the first round (4:05) against Renato Moicano on Saturday night in Inglewood, Calif., to cap UFC 311’s main event.
Makhachev (27-1 MMA) was initially scheduled to fight No. 1 lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan, but Tsarukyan suffered “significant back pain,” as CEO Dana White disclosed Friday. Moicano (20-6-1 MMA) was elevated from his scheduled bout with Beneil Dariush to accept the fight.
Makhachev was gracious in victory, reiterating his desire to fight anyone whomever the UFC designates.
“For me, (it doesn’t matter),” Makhachev said. “(Whoever) can make 155 (pounds), just step in the cage with me.”
Moicano was harsher on himself and said Makhachev was the better fighter. He worries, however, that it may have been his one shot at championship glory.
“That wasn’t a one-day notice,” Moicano said after the fight. “That was a life’s notice. I’m very sad. I spent my whole life for this moment and tapped in the first round.”
Makhachev said he does not have a preference for his next opponent.
The UFC 311 co-main event saw Merab Dvalishvili make his first title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov in a high-level fight. Both men traded nearly 20 punches per round in the first three rounds, while Nurmagomedov successfully defended seven of eight takedown attempts.
In Round 4, the fight shifted in favor of Dvalishvili, who pushed the action with volume striking and prevented Nurmagomedov from using his wrestling base to control the fight on the mat.
The crowd support moved toward Dvalishvili entering Round 5, as a visibly exhausted Nurmagomedov failed to provide any significant offense. Dvalishvili earned a unanimous decision win (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) to hand Nurmagomedov (18-1 MMA) his first professional loss. Dvalishvili (19-4 MMA) has won 12 in a row.
Former light heavyweight champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill stood and traded blows for nearly 15 minutes.
Despite suffering an eye-poke midway through Round 2, Prochazka (31-5-1 MMA) delivered a left hook, followed by a right hand at 3:01 of Round 3, en route to bounce-back win after losing to current champion Alex Pereira last June in the main event of UFC 303.
Meanwhile, Hill (12-3 MMA) is still searching for his first win in two years.
Jailton Almeida used his ground-and-pound to finish Serghei Spivac in a heavyweight bout by TKO at 4:53 in Round 1. Almeida (22-3 MMA) has won nine of his last 10, while Spivac (17-5 MMA) has lost two of his previous three.
Middleweight Reinier de Ridder opened the UFC 311 main card with flying colors, submitting Kevin Holland with a first-round rear-naked-choke at 3:31. It was de Ridder’s 13th submission win. De Ridder (19-2 MMA) handed Holland (26-12 MMA) his fourth loss in his last five fights, while De Ridder improved to 2-0 under the UFC banner.
–Field Level Media
