Author: Dan Hiergesell

It all goes down tomorrow night (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) at UFC 311 live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., as reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev puts his 155-pound title on the line against late-notice replacement, Renato Moicano.

On Friday, it was revealed that surging lightweight contender, Arman Tsarukyan, was forced to pull out of his main event title fight against Makhachev. It was a shocking turn of events, but fortunately Moicano was already competing on the card. He was yanked from his lightweight clash with Beneil Dariush and granted his first-ever UFC title shot.

Luckily, the rest of the UFC 311 card has remained the same. The co-main event will still feature an interesting matchup between reigning UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov, who is a sizeable betting favorite entering this weekend. UFC 311 will also feature the likes of Jiri Prochazka, Jamahal Hill, Kevin Holland, Payton Talbott, Jailton Almeida, Grant Dawson, and Reinier de Ridder.

After all the dust settled from early weigh ins and the main event shakeup, all fighters stepped on stage for ceremonial weigh ins and final staredowns. Check out the intense faceoffs below from some of the most anticipated matchups on the card:

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Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano

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Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

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Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill

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Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 311 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early Disney+/FX/ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining four-fight undercard balance on Disney+/ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 311 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 311: “Makhachev vs. Moicano” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 311 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

Despite disruptive wildfires and a main event injury, UFC 311 will still go down as planned tomorrow night (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) live on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.

Leading the way will be a new main event clash between reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and rising contender Renato Moicano, who is stepping in for an injured Arman Tsarukyan. Lending a hand for the PPV main card will be a co-main event title fight pitting UFC bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili against undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov. Not to mention a light heavyweight meeting between former UFC champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill.

While the early weigh ins have already concluded (results HERE), the UFC 311 ceremonial weigh ins featuring final staredowns is expected to begin in the above video player at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 311 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early Disney+/FX/ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining four-fight undercard balance on Disney+/ESPNN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 311 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 311: “Makhachev vs. Moicano” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 311 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

Former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will officially make his first appearance since losing his title last summer when he takes on surging contender Jack Della Maddalena at UFC London on March 22 from inside The O2 Arena in London, England.

UFC officials revealed the main event booking on Friday following ongoing rumors. Check it out below:

Edwards, 33, is coming off his first loss in nearly 10 years. “Rocky” was looking to defend his UFC welterweight title for a third-straight time at UFC 304 back in July 2024, but he ran into a red-hot Belal Muhammad. “Remember The Name” captured a lopsided unanimous decision win over Edwards to claim the undisputed UFC welterweight crown. Most thought Edwards looked flat and have been waiting for his return ever since.

Unfortunately for Edwards, his comeback fight will not be an easy one. That’s because his opponent, Della Maddalena, has won his first seven trips to the Octagon since making his debut back in 2022. The 28-year-old is coming off a spectacular knockout finish over former title challenger Gilbert Burns and is on the short list of top contenders heading into 2025.

It’s a great matchup for UFC’s return to London and a welterweight main event that oddsmakers are already predicting JDM to win. See official odds HERE.

Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there. UFC London will also feature a large collection of exciting matchups involving some of U.K.’s biggest talent. Check it out below:

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Stick with Mania for more UFC London fight card news.

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An anticipated rematch between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia is almost a done deal. This comes after Haney officially dropped his lawsuit against Garcia from their first meeting.

Remember, the two stars collided in April 2024 in one of the biggest boxing matches of the year. Despite being an underdog, Garcia stunned Haney with multiple knockdowns en route to a majority decision win. It was a huge upset and a performance that solidified Garcia’s status within the sport.

Unfortunately, Garcia would go on to fail pre and post-fight drug tests. As a result, Garcia had his victory overturned to a no contest and was suspended from boxing for one year. Haney, who was undefeated entering his clash with Garcia, took things one step further and filed a lawsuit against “King Ry” for alleged battery, fraud, and unjust enrichment.

Luckily for boxing fans, a Monday report has revealed that Haney has dropped his case against Garcia. In exchange, Garcia has agreed to VADA drug testing for a potential rematch, which is all Haney needs to sign the dotted line. The writing appears to be on the wall.

See below:

“A very reliable source told me that Devin Haney has officially dropped his lawsuit against Ryan Garcia IF he agrees to do VADA. Garcia has agreed to do VADA and the rematch is on!”

Haney also took took to social media to indicate the rematch is in the works. Check it out below:

“I guess he’s not a duck.. he’s a goose. See u soon bucko!”

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Bye bye Bellator MMA!

Corey Anderson was not happy about the Bellator news.

Write a caption for this photo:

Is Justin Gaethje making the right move with a return fight against Dan Hooker?

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Strap in for Thursday, fight fans!

Good luck, Merab…

These are wild odds!

UFC 311 may end up happening in Las Vegas after all.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Here’s some wild grappling exchanges from the first matchup between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan:

This is worth a replay from last Saturday’s UFC Vegas 101 card. Knockout of the Year when it’s all said and done?

Random Land

Someone is getting smacked!

Sleep well Maniacs! We’ll be back for more tomorrow night.

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has released his first statement after he was tossed from a flight this past Saturday that was traveling from Las Vegas, Nevada to Los Angeles, California. Nurmagomedov was traveling to L.A. to help corner his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, for his bantamweight title fight against current champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 on Jan 18 from inside Intuit Dome.

Details were scarce at first so all fight fans had to go on was a short clip of Nurmagomedov calmly talking to a flight attendant trying to understand why he was being asked to move from his seat. The UFC legend was eventually removed from the airplane and caught another flight to L.A. a few hours later.

It was later discovered that the flight attendant had asked Nurmagomedov if he could assist with a potential evacuation as he was sitting in an exit row. The former UFC champion doesn’t speak perfect English, but well enough to understand what was being asked of him and to answer correctly. However, there still seemed to be a language barrier that the flight attendant did not feel like navigating through.

On Sunday, Nurmagomedov took to social media to break his silence on the whole ordeal. Khabib was able to keep his cool while discussing exactly what transpired, but he mentioned potential discrimination for race and nationality. That’s not a good look whenever those allegations are brought up.

Check out Khabib’s official statement below and let us know what you think about all of this:

“First of all, I need to clarify that it was [Frontier Airlines], not Alaska Air.

“Lady who comes to me with questions was very rude from the very beginning, even though I speak very decent English and can understand everything and agreed to assist, she still insists on removing me from my seat. What was the base for that, racial, national or other one, I’m not sure.

“But after 2 minutes of conversation, she called security and I was deplaned from this aircraft, after [an hour and a half] I boarded another airline one and left to my destination.

“I did my best to stay calm and respectful as you can see on the video.

“But those crew members could do better next time and just be nice with clients.”

Capturing Fight of the Night honors has its drawbacks. Just asked UFC middleweight, Roman Kopylov, who walked away with an extra $50,000 and a slicing cut above his eye following a bloody war with Chris Curtis on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 101.

While the middleweight clash may have ended in last-second controversy, Kopylov still did what he needed to do in order to squeak out a win. The Russian striker went toe-to-toe with Curtis over the course of three hard rounds and was bloody all over his face as a result. Curtis may not be known for his one-punch knockout power, but his lead jab and inside uppercut were getting through all night and did some serious damage.

Kopylov, who has never been stopped by strikes in his professional MMA career, kept plodding forward and welcomed the violence. The former Fight Nights Global champion ended up pulling away in the third and final round to score a head kick stoppage with one second left on the clock. The finish was a bit controversial, but it was still an incredible shot by Kopylov.

Despite the controversial knockout, Kopylov still walked away with the win and a Fight of the Night award. That’s all well and good, but the Russian contender also suffered a nasty gash above his right eye from the shots landed by Curtis. UFC CEO, Dana White, shard the aftermath via Instagram so fight fans can get an up close and personal look at the cut.

Check it out below:

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For complete UFC Vegas 101 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.