Updated UFC 311 Fight Card: Arman Tsarukyan Out, Renato Moicano To Get Title Shot Against Islam Makhachev: Know all the fights on the Main Card, Prelims, And Early Prelims!

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Updated UFC 311 Fight Card: Arman Tsarukyan Out, Renato Moicano To Get Title Shot Against Islam Makhachev: Know all the fights on the Main Card, Prelims, And Early Prelims!

The epic showdown of UFC 311 unfolds, with battles across every stage: main, prelims, and early prelims await!

Fight fans have been chomping at the bit for the UFC‘s first pay-per-view of 2025. The promotion is kicking off the year with a banger in the brand-new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan first threw down back in 2019. That fight had everyone on the edge of their seats, with Makhachev squeaking out a decision win over a short-notice Tsarukyan.

Now, they were supposed to run it back with much higher stakes: the lightweight championship belt is on the line. However, after the pre-fight press conference was held and the face-offs completed, sad news for fight fans came through. Arman Tsaruyan had to pull out due to a back injury. This had fight fans, as well as Islam Makhachev, in limbo about who would replace him.

🚨 BREAKING! Renato Moicano is stepping up and will be fighting Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title on short notice!

(via. @danawhite) #UFC311 #UFC #MMA

pic.twitter.com/9O8dueoYCF
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 17, 2025

Now, as Dana White stated on his social media, #10 ranked Renato Moicano will step in for Arman Tsarukyan. ‘Money’ was supposed to fight Beneil Dariush in the main card, but now, he has been updated to the main event. He will now have the opportunity to fight for the title, something he probably would not have thought would happen so soon.

And as if one title fight wasn’t enough, the fight gods have blessed fans with more. Merab Dvalishvili will defend his newly acquired bantamweight crown against the undefeated fighter Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event.

ARE YOU READY?!

Tomorrow is going to be EPIC! 🤩

[ #UFC311 LIVE on @ESPNPlus PPV | 10pmET ]

B2YB @StakeUSA pic.twitter.com/DmTPEu0wxP
— UFC (@ufc) January 18, 2025

This fight has huge implications for the bantamweight division. Nurmagomedov will be looking to emulate what his teammates did in the UFC, while Dvalishvili will look to cement his name as the undisputed bantamweight champion and take the 0 from the undefeated Nurmagomedov.

The main card is stacked, and it is something that fans have been drooling over for a while now. Fans will witness the return of two former light heavyweight champs as Jiri Prochazka squares off against Jamahal Hill.

This is a fight that practically guarantees fireworks, and somebody is definitely going to sleep! Both these fighters have been vying for another shot at Alex Pereira after their KO loss to him. The winner of this fight will definitely be in the conversation for the title shot. Maybe not next, but surely in the mix.

As for Beneil Dariush, his fight against Moicano has been canceled. No replacement opponent was available to fight him at such short notice. Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac has now been moved to the main card of UFC 311. Kevin Holland is welcoming ONE Championship star Reinier de Ridder in what should be a middleweight clash for the ages.

Here are the UFC 311 Main Card Fights:

Weight Class	Fights
Lightweight *C	Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
Bantamweight *C	Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Light Heavyweight	Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
Heavyweight	Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Middleweight	Reinier de Ridder vs. Kevin Holland

Also Read: UFC Lightweight Champ Islam Makhachev Opens Up On The Nate Diaz Altercation Backstage

UFC 311 Prelims And Early Prelims

The UFC 311 prelims are nothing to sneeze at either, featuring rising star Payton Talbott taking on veteran Raoni Barcelos. Zachary Reese was supposed to take on Sedriques Dumas in a middleweight bout. However, the bout was canceled. Reese will now fight Azamat Bekoev in the prelims.

The Prelims of UFC 311 feature these fights:

Weight Class	Fights
Bantamweight	Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
Middleweight	Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
Light Heavyweight	Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
Lightweight	Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira

Unfortunately, Johnny Walker had to pull out due to injury (not from his victory dance!). UFC has now named Billy Elekana as Bogdan Guskov’s new opponent.

The Early Prelims Of UFC 311 feature these fights:

Weight Class	Fights
Bantamweight	Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
Women’s Bantamweight	Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
Bantamweight	Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
Flyweight	Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter

Despite some concerns about the wildfires in Los Angeles, the Intuit Dome has given the green light for the event to proceed as planned. So unless Mother Nature has other ideas, fans are all set for what could be one of the best cards of the year!

(Image Credit: @UFC -X)

Arman Tsarukyan

Beneil Dariush

Islam Makhachev

Jamahal Hill

Jiri Prochazka

Johnny Walker

Merab Dvalishvili

Payton Talbott

Renato Moicano

UFC 311

Umar Nurmagomedov

Zaid Quraishi

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I am a dedicated MMA and Boxing content writer at The Playoffs. I was instantly hooked on MMA after watching the fight between Lyoto Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi back in 2014, and since then, i have been an avid writer with a deep love for the sport and its techniques, providing readers with a thorough understanding of the sport. My favorite aspect of working at The Playoffs is the creative freedom it provides. The diverse range of topics, from listicles and SEO to news articles, keeps me engaged and motivates me to continuously improve my skills! I aim to capture the excitement of the combat sports world in my writing, acting as the middleman between fighters and their die-hard fans. It is kind of like a referee, but with words!