UFC 311 results, bonus winners and the 8 biggest takeaways

On By Littum

UFC 311 kicked off with some ho-hum fights at the start of the night. The first pay-per-view of the year ended with an entertaining main card.

Here’s a look at all the results from the card, the bonus winners and the eight biggest takeaways from UFC 311.

  • (c) Islam Makhachev def. Renato Moicano via first round submission (D’arce Choke)
  • (c) Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46) – (FOTN)
  • (POTN) Jiri Prochazka def. Jamahal Hill via third round TKO
  • (POTN) Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via first round TKO
  • Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via first round submission (rear naked choke)
  • Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27×2)
  • Azamat Bekoev def. Zach Reese via KO in the first round
  • Bogdan Guskarov def. Billy Elekana via second round submission (guillotine)
  • Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
  • Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28×2)
  • Muin Gafarov def. Rinya Nakamura via Unanimous Decision (30-27×3)
  • Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (30-27.2, 29-28)
  • Tagir Ulabekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 29-28)

UFC 311 looked amazing at the Intuit Dome

The Intuit Dome may have jumped to the top of my list of venues to host UFC events. The backdrop of the Inglewood, California, arena looks amazing. The lights in the seats and the overall environment play beautifully on the television.

Longtime martial arts journalist Luke Thomas shared the same attitude.

Islam Makhachev makes Renato Moicano look like a no. 10

In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev made quick work of Renato Moicano at no. 10 to defend his title. Makhachev got the win after he forced Moicano into submission with the champion’s signature D’arce choke.

Moicano stepped in at a day’s notice to replace the injured Arman Tsarukyan and Makhachev made it clear the Brazilian is nowhere near his level. The only fight that still makes sense for Makhachev to have is a title defense against Ilia Topuria if he moves up in weight.

Merab Dvalishvili is a Special Champion

Umar Nurmagomedov is world class, he proved that on Saturday night in the co-main event. And that’s what makes Merab Dvalishvili’s come-from-behind victory all the more impressive.

After Dvalishvili appeared to lose the first two rounds of the fight, the Georgian’s pace proved too much for Nurmagomedov. Like all of Dvalishvili’s previous opponents on his epic winning streak, Nurmagomedov melted down.

In a five-round fight, unless someone sleeps Dvalishvili early, it will be hard to imagine who beats him in a championship fight.

Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill went to war

Respect is due to Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill.

The two former light heavyweight champions put on a great fight in all action. Procházka prevailed by third-round TKO, but Hill had his moments.

Procházka has already fought and lost to champion Alex Pereira twice, but after his win on Saturday, he asked for a third shot at the king of 205. Honestly, the third match can never happen. Pereira is already set to defend his title against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 in March.

It’s hard to imagine Pereira fighting Procházka for a third time before getting a rematch with Jan Błachowicz. Procházka may have to wait for Pereira to move to heavyweight if he wants to regain the light heavyweight belt.

Anyway, Procházka did her part to put on a show on Saturday night.

Ricky Turcios has an insane gas tank

This photo of Ricky Turcios looks like it came straight out of a well shot martial arts movie. Despite losing to an impressive Bernardo Sopaj, Turcios showed off a great gas tank – a theme that would be highlighted again in the co-main event.

Sopaj proved to be too much and he has the talent to be a player in the bantamweight division, but Turcios impressed me with his stamina and toughness. Anyone who pulls Turcios forward will have a tough task.

Ailin Perez won’t stop twerking

Another win, another twerk for Ailín Pérez.

While Pérez has become known as the woman who twerks for wins in the Octagon, she is actually a very good fighter. Pérez ran his current hitting streak to 5-0. Pérez entered the match as the no. 13, but after his victory over no. 9 Karol Rosa She should be in the Top 10 next week.

Afterwards she did this:

Payton Talbott has some work to do

Raoni Barcelos entered his match with Payton Talbott as a +750 underdog, but the fights are not disputed by the oddsmakers. Barcelos’ relentless ground game proved too much for Talbott.

The Brazilian took down the previously undefeated prospect and dominated him for three rounds. Is Talbott still a hot prospect? Yes, but he has a lot of work to do after this humiliating loss.

Kevin Holland is officially the gatekeeper

Holland has a great gimmick: he doesn’t care about anything; he just wants to fight. He talks constantly – even when he is at the bottom of a difficult situation.

RDR didn’t care about any of that. He ran into the Octagon, took Holland down, and minutes later the former ONE Championship dual titleholder submitted his opponent with a naked choke.

The Netherlands have now lost two in a row, four of their last five and six of their last nine. At this point, he seems to be in a position where he should be the test for newcomers to the UFC who have some momentum.

UFC 311 was eventful, but now the promotion will take a week off before the February 1 event, which Israel Adesanya vs. Nassourdine Imavov is in charge.