This Saturday (18th), Los Angeles hosted UFC 311, the first pay-per-view of the year, with two title fights
This Saturday (18th), Los Angeles hosted UFC 311, the first pay-per-view of the year. Brazilian Renato Moicano was one of the stars of the evening’s main bout, taking on Russian Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt.
Moicano, who entered at the last minute as Makhachev’s rival due to the injury of his original rival, Arman Tsarukyan, tried but could not resist the pressure of the Dagestan fighter’s famous ground game, which easily submitted him in the first round to retain the 70kg title with him.
The fight
Even though he had changed opponents the day before, Moicano started aggressively, with the champion preferring to risk little in attack. A counter right barely complicated things for Makhachev, who soon went to do what he does best: break down his rivals and dominate them there.
The Russian tried the takedown, the Brazilian tried to defend himself, but quickly ended up on the ground. Booed by the audience, the Russian did not let himself be intimidated and tried to dominate Moicano, standing in half guard, while the Brazilian tried to avoid submission. However, much better on the ground, Makhachev was able to submit and, without much trouble, won the fight to stay in the lightweight division.
Merab Dvalishvili wins the “war” and remains bantamweight champion
The first title fight this Saturday at UFC 311 was a bantamweight bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. The first round wasn’t very eventful, with the Russian preferring to keep the fight going and the champion unsuccessfully trying for takedowns. The only times the challenger was successful were when he managed to land a few blows.
Umar gambled on kicks and really bothered Dvalishvili, who tried to open space for a takedown and failed. The duel had some frank exchanges and both fighters landed good strikes, with such a ton that it reached the third part of the co-main event, both betting heavily on fighting on the feet, with the difficulty of taking the fight to the ground .
The Russian tried to use the cage to get the takedown and the Georgian’s good defensive play frustrated him. Only at the end Nurmagomedov, after much insistence, tried the single leg, went behind and knocked out the champion with a backpack, even if he did nothing.
In the fourth round, after an unsuccessful attempt, Dvalishvili fought on the ground, but again nothing happened. The champion picked up the pace in his shots to face the Russian, who landed a nice right hand, but did nothing. Soon after, the Georgia fighter grabbed a right hand and sent the fight back to the ground.
The pace of the fight became more tepid at the start of the fifth and final round. Dvalishvili once again tried to get the takedown, which was well defended by Nurmagomedov. The Russian failed to perform the takedown and preferred to use strikes, but he had to face good pressure from the champion, who made a good combination in the final part of the fight and even defeated Umar again. After the ‘war’, the judges ruled that Dvalishvili was better and the Georgian kept the belt with him.
Prochazka KOs Hill and could be Poatan’s rival
In a make or break fight for the light heavyweight division, Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka faced off and it started with the two facing each other and exchanging blows, with the Czech hitting the American with a right hand that landed on his rival’s chin. It was a first round of balance between the parties.
The second round was characterized by some pauses due to the blows to the eye, which ended up interrupting the rhythm of the fight a bit. Hill seemed to be more offensive, doing well in connecting shots while Prochazka bet on counterattacks and tried to preserve more frank shots.
Another nice jab from the Czech caught the American well at the start of the third round and Prochazka started to take control of the action in the final part of the fight. After taking a knee from the American, the Czech hit with a right ‘stone’. who knocked his opponent to the ground. A few more shots until the end of the fight and the Czech took home another victory and the chance to face Alex Poatan in the future.
The Brazilian night
UFC 311 saw four more Brazilians in action this Saturday in Los Angeles. Against Sergey Spivac, Jailton Malhadinho had moments of suffering in the Octagon, when he was knocked down and found himself under the Moldovan fighter. The Bahian managed to sweep and almost finished with a rear-naked choke. When the fight ended, Jailton had total control to swing and take Spivac down and until the final seconds of the first round he used ground and strikes before the referee ended the fight and gave him the victory.
Closing out the preliminary card, Raoni Barcelos went in search of another victory in the organization against Payton Talbott, and he wasn’t intimidated by one of Ultimate’s recent revelations. Using his takedowns and grappling very well, the Rio native also suffered a bit in his striking, but when he took the fight to where he felt comfortable, he had no major problems in being able to triumph by decision of the judges;
Against Grant Dawson, Carlos Diego Ferreira tried to get his third consecutive victory. The Brazilian also had some good moments on his feet and showed with some takedown attempts that the defense was at the forefront in this regard. But, when he was finally knocked down, the rider barely resisted the pressure of the American’s grips and weight, thus succumbing to Dawson.
Brazil’s first representative at UFC 311, Karol Rosa faced the Argentine Ailin Pérez in a fight without too many emotions, in which Espírito Santo had few offensive moments against an opponent who performed well enough to get his fifth consecutive UFC triumph.
UFC 311 Results: Makhachev x Moicano
Main card
Islam Makhachev defeats Renato Moicano via submission (4:05 of R1) – Makhachev retains lightweight belt
Merab Dvalishvili defeated Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision of the judges – Dvalishvili retains the bantamweight belt
Jiri Prochazka defeated Jamahal Hill by TKO (3:01 by R3)
Jailton Malhadinho defeats Sergey Spivac by TKO (4:53 of R1)
Reinier de Ridder defeated Kevin Holland via submission (3:31 of R1)
Preliminary paper
Raoni Barcelos defeated Payton Talbott by unanimous decision of the judges
Azamat Bekoev defeated Zach Reese by KO (3:04 of R1)
Bogdan Guskov defeated Billy Elekana via submission (3:33 of R2)
Grant Dawson beat Carlos Diego Ferreira by unanimous decision
Aillin Pérez beat Karol Rosa by unanimous decision of the judges
Muin Gafurov defeated Rinya Nakamura by unanimous decision
Benardo Sopaj defeated Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision of the judges
Tagir Ulanbekov defeated Clayton Carpenter by unanimous decision
Source: Terra
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
