The UFC will make its debut in the Intuit Dome with Renato Moicano challenging Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 311 after a late change to the main card.
Makhachev is the defending lightweight champion and enters the event having won his last 14 fights in his 16-fight UFC career. The Russian hasn’t lost since October 2015 when he suffered a knockout to Adriano Martins in the first round.
Makhachev has held the title since a submission victory over Charles Oliveira in October 2022. They were scheduled for a rematch in October 2023 but the fight was canceled.
Makhachev got the best of Tsarukyan with a unanimous decision victory on April 20, 2019. But he now faces a new opponent on very short notice with Tsarukyan stepping away with a reported back injury.
Moicano will have his work cut out for him but comes in with some momentum, winning his last four fights. In September, he defeated Benoit Saint James at UFC Fight Night with a second-round TKO.
Umar Nurmagomedov will also challenge Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event for the bantamweight title.
Dvalishvili enters the fight on an 11-fight win streak. Nurmagomedov enters the fight as the No. 2 contender in the bantamweight rankings.
The UFC has previously held just two other events in Inglewood: UFC 232 (Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2) in 2018 and UFC 199 (Luke Rockhold vs. Michael Bisping 2) in 2016. Both were held at The Forum.
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UFC 311: Time, TV, streaming and how to watch Makhachev vs. Moicano:
- Date: Saturday, January 18
- Time: Prelims begin at 8 p.m. ET; Main card begins at 10 p.m. ET
- Location: Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California
- TV: N/A
- Stream: ESPN+ PPV
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UFC 311 start time: Prelims and main card
UFC 311 updated fight card
Main card
- Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
- Co-Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
- Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
- Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
Prelims
- Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
- Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
- Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
- Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
- Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
- Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
UFC 311 odds
All odds are for moneyline bets (as of Saturday), according to BetMGM.
Main card
- Main Event: Islam Makhachev (-1200) vs. Renato Moicano (-250)
- Co-Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili (+200) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (-250)
- Jiri Prochazka (+105) vs. Jamahal Hill (-125)
- Jailton Almeida (-550) vs. Serghei Spivac (+400)
- Kevin Holland (+105) vs. Reinier de Ridder (-125)
Prelims
- Payton Talbott (-1200) vs. Raoni Barcelos (+725)
- Zachary Reese (+150) vs. Azamat Bekoev (185)
- Bogdan Guskov (-450) vs. Billy Elekana (+350)
- Grant Dawson (-250) vs. Diego Ferreira (+200)
- Karol Rosa (-250) vs. Ailin Perez (+200)
- Rinya Nakamura (-650) vs. Muin Gafurov (+450)
- Ricky Turcios (+220) vs. Benardo Sopaj (-275)
- Tagir Ulanbekov (-350) vs. Clayton Carpenter (+260)
UFC 308 predictions:
MMA Junkie: Unanimous picks for Makhachev
The MMA junkie agrees, with its 11 staff writers and editors picking Islam Makhachev to get a win on Saturday night after a main card change.
Yahoo Sports: Makhachev to win
Drake Riggs writes, “Makhachev is superior in every aspect of MMA to his new challenger, which is why he’s the best fighter on Earth. He’ll hold that edge over nearly any lightweight he’s up against. Outside of some incredible submission that catches Makhachev in a clumsy scramble, the champion should cruise to a victory on Saturday, implementing his soul-crushing top pressure to pummel and break his new Brazilian challenger.”
CBS Sports: Makhachev to win
Brent Brookhouse writes, “All credit to Moicano on stepping up on extremely short notice to face the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game but I simply don’t know what he is supposed to do to beat Makhachev. Moicano doesn’t present the same threat Tsarukyan did and his lack of meaningful striking power means that his inability to outwrestle Makhachev leaves him with no real path to victory. Makhachev can likely win this fight however he decides unless he lands a miracle shot or Makhachev blows out a knee while ragdolling him around.”
Gabe Zaldivar contributed to this story.
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