UFC 311 has plenty of excitement attached to it, but the news on Friday afternoon may have dampened spirits just a bit. The main event has a new matchup after Arman Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw from his lightweight title showdown with champion Islam Makhachev. In his place steps veteran Renato Moicano, who was scheduled to face Beneil Dariush on the main card. Moicano made championship weight during the weigh-ins, making the title fight official.
The co-main event also sees a massive title fight on Saturday night in Los Angeles when bad blood is finally settled in the Octagon. Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili looks to defend his title for the first time against rising star Umar Nurmagomedov.
The native of Georgia claimed the bantamweight title with a close win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, hasn’t faced the stiffest competition en route to this title opportunity, but he did defeat a top contender in Cory Sandhagen in his most recent appearance in emphatic fashion.
The two fighters have been at each other’s throats since the introductory press conference, where Dvalishvili felt disrespected by Nurmagomedov after the champ granted him the opportunity sooner than he would have preferred the fight to give him a chance to fight before he begins observing Ramadan.
“He came into my interview [before the December press conference] and asked me, ‘Why you disrespect me?’ I wanted to tell him, ‘What are you talking about? Explain to me exactly what I said?'” Nurmagomedov said. “I’m not his son. He can’t ask for me like we are father and son, ‘Why do you do this?’ You are not my father. If you guys can find anything what I said with the name Merab [like], ‘Merab is a coward. Merab is a bullshit guy,’ or anything else, show me.
“When I hear him say why Petr Yan deserves [title shot] more than me, of course I will tell him, ‘Merab, don’t be scared. Nobody understood why you are trying to avoid me. Dana said I am next.’ Joe Rogan even asked him, after his [UFC 306 title fight], ‘What about Umar next as the next challenger?’ Everywhere, he tried to avoid, right? But it’s not like it’s [only] what I said. The whole world was saying that, all of the fans said that Merab was trying to avoid this fight and that he looked bad. What else would I have to do?”
Below is the complete fight card for UFC 311 along with the latest odds. Check back all week for the latest news, features and other content around this massive event.
UFC 311 fight card, odds
- Islam Makhachev (c) -900 vs. Renato Moicano +600, lightweight title
- Umar Nurmagomedov -320 vs. Merab Dvalishvili (c) +250, bantamweight title
- Jiri Prochazka -140 vs. Jamahal Hill +110, light heavyweights
- Jailton Almeida -480 vs. Serghei Spivac +360, heavyweights
- Reiner de Ridder -115 vs. Kevin Holland -105, middleweights
- Payton Talbott -1200 vs. Raoni Barcelos +750, bantamweights
- Grant Dawson -260 vs. Diego Ferreira +210, lightweights
- Karol Rosa -265 vs. Ailin Perez +215, women’s bantamweights
- Rinya Nakamura -550 vs. Muin Gafurov +400, bantamweights
- Bogdan Guskov -165 vs. Johnny Walker +140, light heavyweights
- Benardo Sopaj -290 vs. Ricky Turcios +235, bantamweights
- Tagir Ulanbekov -350 vs. Clayton Carpenter +275, flyweights
UFC 311 info
- Date: Jan. 18
- Location: Intuit Dome — Inglewood, California
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET (Main card)
- How to watch: ESPN+ PPV ($79.99 plus taxes)
UFC 311 countdown
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