Awesome job: Islam Makhachev beat Khabib Nurmagomedov in UFC
Russian fighter Islam Makhachev defeated Brazilian Renato Moicano in the main event of UFC 311 in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old Russian won by choke in the first round. It should be noted that Makhachev learned the name of his opponent a day before the fight. It happened after Russian-Armenian fighter Arman Tsarukyan was withdrawn due to a back injury. For Islam, the fight was already the fourth title defense. And this is a record for the UFC lightweight division. In the co-main event of the tournament, another Russian, Umar Nurmagomedov, lost by unanimous decision to American-Georgian fighter Merab Dvalishvili.
On class
Renato Moicano already had to fight Beneil Dariush in this card. It was difficult to find a more adequate replacement for Makhachev simply because the UFC has not appointed an official replacement, and Charles Oliveira and Dustin Puryear, who have hinted on social media that they might step in to replace Tsarukyan, would not physically be able to make that much weight in time for Saturday's fight.
Islam Makhachev of Russia and Renato Moicano of Brazil in a lightweight title fight
The candidacy of 35-year-old Moicano raises a lot of questions, but in the current circumstances it is the most fair if you need to save the main-event on such short notice. The Brazilian is a true UFC veteran who has been in the league for over 10 years. His first fight in the promotion was back in December 2014, when he defeated Tom Niinimaki by choke. Prior to his fight with Islam, Moicano was riding a streak of four straight wins, including over the promotion's rising star Benoit Saint-Denis.
In the first round Makhachev did not rush: in the first two minutes he cautiously probed the distance, while Moicano did not spare no effort on punches. Then Islam started to be more active, occasionally throwing hard punches, but in the middle of the segment Moicano dropped the Russian to the canvas with one of his punches. However, Makhachev quickly got up and soon moved the Brazilian, finding himself in a half-guard. A minute before the end, Islam tried to catch Moicano in a guillotine, and when it didn't work, the fighter changed position and went for a choke on D'Arce - and then Renato immediately knocked!
After the fight, Islam didn't rush to make any statements about moving up to 77kg. Instead, he stated that he was ready to accept any challenge at 70 kg with anyone who could fit into that category, so it's quite possible that the fight with Tsarukyan will still happen.
Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts to his win over Renato Moicano of Brazil
- "Islam did a great job, showed his class, his level," Russian MMA fighter Mikhail Malyutin said in a conversation with Izvestia. - Moicano initially prepared for this tournament, for a strong opponent, for Dariush. But Makhachev showed how much higher he is than the others in his weight. It seems to me that no one will be able to compete with him in the next year or two. I don't even know who will be his next opponent.
Makhachev defended the UFC lightweight title for the fourth time and earned his 27th career victory with one loss. His winning streak now stands at 15 fights.
Islam set a UFC lightweight division record for the most successful defenses since winning the belt. He surpassed undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0, 13-0 in the UFC), among others.
Broken Arm
In the co-main event, Umar Nurmagomedov tried to take the lightweight title from Merab Dvalishvili. The Georgian fighter became champion in September 2024 when he defeated Sean O'Malley by unanimous decision. On his way to the title, the Georgian won 10 fights in a row while losing his two UFC starts. Dvalishvili is a fierce fighter who doesn't strive for spectacularity: in the UFC, he won only one fight out of 11 fights early.
Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia and Meraba Dvalishvili of Georgia in a flyweight title fight
Umar's path to a title shot didn't turn out to be as long. Nurmagomedov won six fights and never lost, and his most serious opponent at the moment can be considered Cory Sandhagen, to whom Khabib's cousin left no chance. Three of six fights Umar won early, and one of the fights ended with a bright knockout in the first round.
The fighters have always treated each other with restraint, but when the fight was announced, Dvalishvili began actively badgering Nurmagomedov and saying that it was Umar who was disrespecting him. On paper it looked like the chances of the rivals were equal, but bookmakers considered Nurmagomedov a serious favorite.
For the first 40 seconds, the rivals didn't even approach each other - they just kept their distance. Umar was the first to take the initiative - his high kick flew by. The fight gradually accelerated: there were several hard punches from Umar, to which Merab responded with no less sharp attacks. Two minutes before the siren, Nurmagomedov tried to move Dvalishvili, but he struggled to hold on. With 20 seconds left in the period, Umar lightly shook Merab, but it was not a truly dangerous moment. The round turned out to be very close, but most likely it was taken by the Georgian fighter due to more successful actions.
Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia and Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia in a title fight
Already in the first minute of the second segment Merab and Umar fought hard, and it was difficult to identify the winner of this clash. In the middle of the period, Umar finally put Merab on the canvas at the net. The latter did not fight back hard, but eventually got up quite quickly. The rivals continued in the rack, and the match looked about equal. A minute before the siren Dvalishvili went into a clinch, from where Umar delivered good knee strikes, and when the opponents "untied", they exchanged a couple more punches, after which the round ended.
At the start of the third segment, Merab went to his feet and managed to take Nurmagomedov down, but he got right back up, avoiding a powerful right side kick. In the standup, the competitors tried to shoot each other, but it looked too close to give anyone the advantage. Merab kept pressing, increased the pace and looked great. Umar, on the other hand, defended more, both in the standup and in the parterre. At the end of the segment he managed to put his opponent down, but it was hardly enough to take the five minutes.
Already at the end of the first minute of the fourth round Merab again made a successful pass, but Umar was again quickly up. Dvalishvili worked the first number one, did not slow down, and Nurmagomedov had a hard time keeping up with the speed that the Georgian offered. He occasionally responded with punches, but he was down functionally. Merab also took the end of the segment: he was much more active, as he was throughout the fight. Half a minute before the siren Dvalishvili even made a pass, while Umar did not find the strength to get up right away.
At the beginning of the final round the fighters were not too active, but closer to the middle Dvalishvili started trying to transfer again - Umar stood his ground. Nurmagomedov himself tried to counterattack with leg kicks, but to no avail. Merab continued to keep a crazy pace - he looked much fresher against Umar. The Georgian also took the last minute - he was more active and seriously shook his opponent, and it's hard to understand how Nurmagomedov could resist at all. And 20 seconds before the end, Merab had one more knockdown, breaking Georges St. Pierre's record for this indicator in UFC history.
All three judges eventually gave the victory to Dvalishvili - 48:47, 48:47, 49:46.
- A very frustrating defeat for Umar," continued Mikhail Malyutin. - He is a hard worker, a plowman, he lives in the gym. I said before the fight that Umar is stronger than Dvalishvili in some aspects of the fight, except for physical. Merab was stronger in this respect. Umar couldn't cope, he was a little bit tired emotionally. This is his first title fight. Umar defended a lot, but a defensive team doesn't score goals. If he would have been braver in the fight with Merab, he would have declassified him. But it turned out that Nurmagomedov was defensive and Dvalishvili was active and moving forward. I think if Umar hits Merab next time, he will take the belt.
Umar Nurmagomedov from Russia.
Right after the winner was announced, Merab went up to UFC head Dana White and said something expressively to him. The winner of this fight was obvious - Dvalishvili was looking better with each round, but Umar was slipping. After the fight, the Georgian fighter responded to Umar calling him old, and Nurmagomedov said he broke his hand in the first round and considers himself the winner of the fight, but it needs to be reviewed.
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