Key points
It’s a massive fight night in California as two UFC titles are on the line at the Intuit Dome.
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is set to take on Renato Moicano in the first pay-per-view main event of 2025. Arman Tsarukyan was originally booked to fight for 155lb gold, but he got injured and withdrew from the card on Friday.
In the co-main event, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight belt for the first time since dethroning Sean O’Malley last September. 18-0 contender Umar Nurmagomedov is his opponent and it’s safe to say the two men are not fond of each other.
The UFC 311 card is filled from top to bottom with fun match-ups that will excite fans and those watching at 6pm Eastern. Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill, Kevin Holland, Jailton Almeida, and Payton Talbott are just some of the big names who will throw down tonight.
Thank you for reading
We really appreciate you tuning in to our live blog tonight, it was a great night of fights in California.
Stay tuned for more on the Bloody Elbow home page throughout the day.
[Link]Islam Makhachev submits Renato Moicano in Round 1
HUGE PERFORMANCE FROM ISLAM MAKHACHEV AS HE BREAKS THE RECORD FOR LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE DEFENCES!
[Link]Islam Makhachev vs Renato Moicano – Round 1
Tentative first few minutes, brief stoppage from Herb Dean to warn Moicano about his fingers. Huge shot from the Brazilian stiffens the legs of Makhachev for a bit and he decides the striking isn’t for him so he shoots the takedown.
Moicano gets back somewhere near his feet but Makhachev immediately locks in a Darce choke and gets the first round submission!
[Link]Islam Makhachev makes the walk for UFC 311 main event
He is the pound-for-pound number one fighter in the world, here he comes!
[Link]Main event time!
Here we go, money Moicano makes the walk. Can he cause the upset of the century?
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili reveals injuries ahead of stunning victory
After a big speech to Dana White, he tells Joe Rogan about the injuries he had been suffering before UFC 311. An infection on his leg and a lower back problem. Unbelievable that he could do that without being at 100 per cent.
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili defeats Umar Nurmagomedov by UD
What a showing from the champion as he defends his gold and puts an incredible pace on the plucky and impressive Umar Nurmagomedov.
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov – Round 5
We head to the fifth and Merab Dvalishvili certainly the fresher of the two men. Khabib Nurmagomedov is frantic in the corner, he knows Umar Nurmagomedov is letting this opportunity slip.
Merab will not stop looking for that takedown, but he is surely winning this fight. He’s taken rounds three, four and five after two close ones early. Interested to see how Chris Leben is scoring it!
The champion taunts his rival after he misses wildly and then Merab Dvalishvili breaks Georges St-Pierre’s record for takedowns with two more! What a performance from the champion!
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov – Round 4
Neither man able to get a clean takedown but they keep shooting for the legs. Time to just go Usman v Covington 1 and get to kickboxing lads! Merab definitely showing his experience and comfort in there as we head towards the championship rounds.
And with just over 30 seconds left Merab Dvalishvili equals Georges St-Pierre’s takedown record as he finally gets Nurmagomedov down. As far as I’m concerned, he’s winning this fight, maybe as much as four rounds to nothing but certainly 3-1.
Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov – Round 3
Merab Dvalishvili is doing well on the feet but seems obsessed with taking down Umar Nurmagomedov. It’s a fascinating tactic. Little clash of heads sees Nurmagomedov drop for a second, and the champ finally gets a takedown for half a second, which sees him point at his rival!
Merab has a word with the broadcast team while against the cage at one point. This is heading to the championship rounds!
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov – Round 2
These guys are swinging now, they’re going to find it very hard to get this fight to the ground at all!
Umar Nurmagomedov ends up winning the race for a takedown, but was unable to do much with it as he got the champ down in an awkward spot. They’re both going for it on the feet, very tough rounds to score thus far!
[Link]Merab Dvalishvili vs Umar Nurmagomedov – Round 1
Tentative start from two men who appear to have a bitter feud, but Merab begins to engage as the round goes on. He’s willing to throw punches a bit more than Umar is and he’s having some slight success as we hit the halfway point.
However, Umar is not a slouch on the feet either, and he lands big in his own right. He shoots for a takedown, doesn’t get it. In the dying seconds of the round he lands a big right hand flush.
The visuals at Intuit Dome are insane
It’s not dissimilar to Sphere in Las Vegas, although at a smaller scale. The venue looks sick!
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JIRI PROCHAZKA KNOCKS OUT JAMAHAL HILL
PURE CHAOS IN THIS LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CLASH! Monumental turnaround for Prochazka!
[Link]Pair of eye pokes causes doctors to step in
Jiri Prochazka pokes Jamahal Hill. We continue. Then Hill pokes Prochazka and the doctors are called in. He persists, let’s hope they both keep it clean!
[Link]Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill making the walk now
The people’s main event, with Alex Pereira at cageside, two former champs about to go at it!
[Link]Jailton Almeida beats Serghei Spivac by TKO
Wow! No messing from Jailton Almeida as he lands a quick fire stoppage. Perhaps the most impressive part of this was his work on the feet as he stiffens the legs of Spivac.
[Link]Reinier De Ridder submits Kevin Holland within one
Holland taps out in the first round to a choke from the former ONE Championship double champ!
[Link]Kevin Holland vs Reinier de Ridder kicks off the main card
Really exciting middleweight matchup here.
[Link]Raoni Barcelos defeats Payton Talbott by Unanimous Decision
Very very impressive victory for the underdog. He gets the win on all three scorecards, including Chris Leben.
[Link]Payton Talbott vs Raoni Barcelos third round is a barn-burner
What a fight we have on our hands, both men tiring after an explosive third. Fight gets temporarily stopped as Barcelos grabs the cage.
[Link]Raoni Barcelos gets the fight to the ground again
Talbott is doing a good job of getting back up to the feet, but he’s struggling here with the far more experienced Barcelos.
[Link]Raoni Barcelos is dominating now
Payton Talbott is in big big trouble as we speak, being completely dominated from the first seconds of the fight.
[Link]Payton Talbott vs Raoni Barcelos kicks off
We are underway and instantly Barcelos takes control and gets us to the ground.
[Link]Azamat Bekoev KOs Zachary Reese!
Vicious ground and pound from Bekoev, sprawls out the American! He has announced himself on the scene!
[Link]Zachary Reese vs Azamat Bekoev up next
Big fight in the middleweight division. Let’s see how they shape up.
[Link]Bogdan Guskov gets the submission win over Billy Elakana
After a tough first round from the late-notice replacement, Guskov gets his victory. If I were the referee I’d have stepped in quite a bit earlier there.
[Link]Grant Dawson defeats Diego Ferreira by UD
Grant Dawson loudly booed by the California crowd as he wins 30-27 across the board to bring his record to 23-2-1. He offers a big fight to Beneil Dariush in April at UFC 314.
[Link]Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira on now
The ESPN prelims begin as Grant Dawson returns against Diego Ferreira. Two solid unranked lightweights here.
[Link]Ailin Perez gets the win by Unanimous Decision
Ailin Perez revisits the twerk celebration as she defeats Karol Rosa for her fifth straight win. Solid showing from the Argentiian. She’s earned that victory.
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Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez next
We have our first female fight of the night to close out the early prelims!
[Link]Muin Gafurov defeats Rinya Nakamura by UD
Dominant from start to finish, but another decision on this card. We need something to light us up a bit now. Maybe Ailin Perez’s time!
[Link]Bernardo Sopaj defeats Ricky Turcios by UD
One of the most exciting fights you’ll see, Sopaj gets it done against the always game Ricky Turcios. 30-27 on two cards, 29-28 on one, probably doesn’t do the loser’s performance justice.
[Link]Sopaj puts down Turcios with a body shot
The third round starts in explosive fashion! Huge body shot send Turcios down, and Sopaj looks to finish. But Turcios is back up and going for a second wind!
[Link]Turcios is not giving Sopaj an inch here
It’s a firefight as we head towards the end of the second round!
[Link]Tagir Ulanbekov beats Clayton Carpenter by UD
Eagles MMA are underway with a big victory tonight as Tagir Ulanbekov gets 30-27 across the board in the first fight of the night.
He wants Pantoja next, let’s see!
[Link]Ulanbekov sends a message to DC!
Right before he lands a beautiful takedown, Ulanbekov dedicates the move to Daniel Cormier on commentary
[Link]Ulanbekov and Carpenter go to the final round
Decent little fight here, Khabib in the corner for the first fight and the main event tonight.
[Link]We are underway in Inglewood
Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter gets us started on the night.
[Link]UFC 311 full fight card<br>
Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
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. Bernardo Sopaj
Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
Welcome to the Bloody Elbow live blog for UFC 311
Good afternoon, and welcome to Bloody Elbow’s live coverage from the Intuit Dome in California for UFC 311.
It’s set to be an exciting fight night, with action kicking at 6pm Eastern and 3pm Pacific, which means a UK fans will kick off 2025 with an 11pm start time.
We’ll have live news and updates all day as we head into an epic event, with lightweight and bantamweight gold on the line and a lot of major world title implications.
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