Tag: ufc 311

MMA Legend Discusses Why Renato Moicano Could Be Bigger Test For Islam Makhachev Than Arman Tsarukyan

Renato Moicano might pose a more demanding test for Islam Makhachev than Arman Tsarukyan — at least, that’s the perspective of an MMA legend. Makhachev had spent months training to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the highly anticipated main event of UFC 311 this Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. […]

Renato Moicano might pose a more demanding test for Islam Makhachev than Arman Tsarukyan — at least, that’s the perspective of an MMA legend.

Makhachev had spent months training to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the highly anticipated main event of UFC 311 this Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. However, on Friday, the matchup was abruptly derailed when UFC CEO Dana White revealed that “Ahalkalakets” had to withdraw from their rematch because of a back injury.

Eventually, “Money” swooped in at the last moment to save the UFC 311 main event, stepping up as Tsarukyan’s replacement. Moicano had originally been scheduled to face Beneil Dariush on the same card.

Many fans and analysts alike see Moicano as an easy matchup for Makhachev, a sentiment echoed by the oddsmakers who have installed the Dagestani as an overwhelming favorite heading into the fight. However, Demetrious Johnson sees things quite differently.

During a recent video on his YouTube channel, “Mighty” weighed in on the reshuffled UFC 311 main event between Makhachev and Moicano following Tsarukyan’s sudden withdrawal. The former UFC flyweight champion emphasized how the short-notice aspect of the matchup brings a fresh dynamic, and boldly suggested that “Money” might pose a more formidable challenge for Makhachev than many expect.

“I think it’s a better fight, Johnson said. “Here’s the reason why: you look at what ‘Money’ Moicano has done recently. He is on a tear because the man ‘can’t afford to lose,’ and I think it’s a tougher fight for Islam Makhachev. The reason is that you have to do it within 24 hours; you have no idea what the game plan’s going to be, and the whole thing changes.

“But right now, Islam Makhachev is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, so he can fight anybody on any given day. But you do have to make some adjustments, because the way that ‘Money’ fights compared to what Arman does is night and day different. I feel Renato Moicano is way more dangerous than Arman just because he’s not going to rely on the wrestling. He’s gonna go after him, he’s gonna throw knees, he’s gonna throw combinations. And he’s a f**king dog. He’s gonna bring a dog fight.”

UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano Results & Highlights (6PM ET) 

UFC 311 takes place tonight from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights!  In the main event, Islam Makhachev will put his lightweight title on the line against Renato Moicano, who stepped in on short notice due to an injury to Arman Tsarukyan. While in the […]

UFC 311 takes place tonight from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and MMA News has you covered with all the results and highlights! 

In the main event, Islam Makhachev will put his lightweight title on the line against Renato Moicano, who stepped in on short notice due to an injury to Arman Tsarukyan. While in the co-main event, bantamweight champ Merab Dvalishvili will face Umar Nurmagomedov. 

Elsewhere on the main card, Ji?í Procházka will face Jamal Hill at light heavyweight; Jailton Almeida and Sergey Spivak will clash at heavyweight; and Kevin Holland will face Reinier de Ridder in a middleweight matchup. All fighters successfully made weight at the weigh-ins.

Make sure to catch all the UFC 311 results and highlights as they happen below! 

Main Card: 10PM ET On PPV 

  • Lightweight Championship: Islam Makhachev (C) vs. Renato Moicano 
  • Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov 
  • Light Heavyweight: Ji?í Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill 
  • Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac 
  • Middleweight: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder 

 
Preliminary Card: 8PM ET On (ESPNews/Disney+ 

  • 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 

 
Early Preliminary Card: 6PM ET On ESPN+ 

  • Women’s Bantamweight: Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez 
  • Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafarov 
  • Bantamweight: Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj 
  • Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter 

Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares Candid Thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan’s UFC 311 Withdrawal

Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares Candid Thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan's UFC 311 WithdrawalKhabib Nurmagomedov wishes nothing but the best for Arman Tsarukyan. Hours away from his first shot at UFC gold,…

Khabib Nurmagomedov Shares Candid Thoughts on Arman Tsarukyan's UFC 311 Withdrawal

Khabib Nurmagomedov wishes nothing but the best for Arman Tsarukyan.

Hours away from his first shot at UFC gold, Tsarukyan was forced to bow out of Saturday’s headliner against Islam Makhachev in Los Angeles due to an injured back. The news came as a shock to fighters and fans alike, but fortunately, the UFC was able to pluck another top-10 fighter from the card and insert them into the main event with relative ease.

That man being none other than rising lightweight star Renato Moicano.

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While backstage at Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins in Inglewood, Makhachev’s coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, offered his take on the sudden shake-up and shared some words of encouragement to Tsarukyan, recalling a similar incident he himself endured during his own race to the lightweight title.

“Honestly, I knew this yesterday, at 1 A.M. before I sleep. Honestly, this can happen with anybody. If you guys remember [in] 2017, March, it happened with me too. Then after that, I go to hospital, make surgery, come back and I tell UFC, ‘It was my mistake, give me other best guy. I’m going to beat this guy and deserve my title shot.’ It was the same thing with me. I just want to wish him all the best. He’s young. He’s tough. He can come back. He [has] to survive this situation and come back,” (h/t Sportskeeda).

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Khabib Refuses to underestimate ‘money’ moicano

Unsurprisingly, Makhachev is a massive -1100 favorite to come out on top against Moicano inside the Intuit Dome. Despite those wide odds, ‘The Eagle’ knows that counting out someone as dangerous and experienced as ‘Money’ would be a massive mistake.

“Now, new main event. I think with Moicano, he has very big experience in the UFC… 10, 11 years in UFC. He [has four-fight] win streak, and he’s on his prime. It’s a good fight. Of course, it’s not like Arman and Islam, but it’s still very competitive fight, and we [are] not going to underestimate this guy.”

Moicano goes into his first UFC title opportunity riding a four-fight win streak and a winner in six of his last seven, including Ws against notable names like Drew Dober, Jalin Turner, and Benoit Saint-Denis.

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No Worries for Islam Makhachev as He Prepares to Fight Renato Moicano at UFC 311

No Worries for Islam Makhachev as He Prepares to Fight Renato Moicano at UFC 311Islam Makhachev doesn’t really care who’s standing across from him at UFC 311. Up until a few short hours…

No Worries for Islam Makhachev as He Prepares to Fight Renato Moicano at UFC 311

Islam Makhachev doesn’t really care who’s standing across from him at UFC 311.

Up until a few short hours ago, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ was prepared to defend his lightweight title against the division’s top-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukayn, on Saturday night inside the Intuit Dome in L.A. However, that is no longer the case after ‘Ahalkalakets’ was forced to bow out of the bout on Friday morning due to a back injury.

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Instead, Makhachev will put his gold on the line against rising star Renato Moicano who was originally set to face perennial contender Beneil Dariush as part of the evening’s main card.

When UFC CEO Dana White broke the news during Friday’s official weigh-in show, he insisted that Makhachev was willing to take on anyone the promotion chose to put in front of him. Makhachev echoed a similar sentiment on social media not long after news of Moicano’s move up the card made waves.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Islam_Makhachev (@islam_makhachev)

“What does this title represent?,” Makhachev wrote on Instagram. “It means you are the best in the world and if you are the best in the world, it doesn’t matter who’s going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let’s do this!”

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Islam Makhachev is a massive betting favorite against ‘money’ moicano

Unsurprisingly, Makhachev emerged as a massive -1100 favorite to come out on top against Moicano, meaning that if you want to win $100 betting on the Dagestani, you’ll have to throw down $1,100.

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For what it’s worth, Moicano goes into the short-notice title tilt with the longest active win streak at lightweight, including wins against Drew Dober and Jalin Turner, and an absolutely dominant performance against Benoit Saint-Denis in his last outing.

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‘Money’ currently sits at a +700 underdog. That means a $100 bet on the Brazilian could net you $700 should he score what would be one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history.

Arman Tsarukyan Issues Statement Following UFC 311 Withdrawal

Arman Tsarukyan Issues Statement Following UFC 311 WithdrawalArman Tsarukyan is shedding some light on his shocking withdrawal from Saturday’s UFC 311 headliner in Los Angeles. Emanating…

Arman Tsarukyan Issues Statement Following UFC 311 Withdrawal

Arman Tsarukyan is shedding some light on his shocking withdrawal from Saturday’s UFC 311 headliner in Los Angeles.

Emanating from the Intuit Dome, ‘Ahalkalakets’ was scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the evening’s main event. However, Tsarukyan left fight fans shocked when UFC CEO Dana White revealed during Friday’s official weigh-in show that he had bowed out of the bout due to a back injury.

Few other details about Tsarukyan’s exit had been offered up to that point, but before long, the Armenian took to social media and offered some insight into his injury and the difficult decision to pull out of his golden opportunity.

“I regret to inform everyone that the news is that I had to pull out of UFC 311 with a back injury is true,” Tsarukyan wrote on Instagram. “This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my fighting career. I would like to thank the UFC for understanding and I look forward to competing for my first UFC Championship in the future. Thank you all for your support.”

Tsarukyan is out, Moicano is in

Now, Islam Makhachev will defend his title against the lightweight division’s 10th-ranked contender, Renato Moicano.

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Money’ was originally set to compete on the main card against perennial contender Beneil Dariush. Unfortunately for Dariush, there was no time to secure him a replacement opponent.

“Family and friends, unfortunately, I’m not fighting tomorrow,” Dariush wrote on Instagram. “Due to changes in the card I been left as the odd man out. I appreciate Dana White and UFC for giving me an opportunity to fight in my hometown and taking care of me even though I’m not fighting. I believe God has something better for me and I will wait faithfully to see how it unfolds.”

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UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream

UFC 311 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins! The upcoming pay-per-view event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California provides a chance for UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev to record his fourth successful title defense. While that was initially set to come […]

UFC 311 takes place on Saturday night, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins!

The upcoming pay-per-view event at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California provides a chance for UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev to record his fourth successful title defense.

While that was initially set to come in the form of a rematch opposite top contender Arman Tsarukyan, a back injury sustained during his weight cut forced the planned challenger to withdraw. Stepping in on 24 hours’ notice will be Renato Moicano, who was originally slated to share the cage with Beneil Dariush on Saturday’s main card.

The stakes will also be high in the co-main event, which will see undefeated bantamweight Merab Dvalishvili look to complete his ascent to the top by unseating current kingpin Merab Dvalishvili in his first defense.

Elsewhere on the UFC 311 card, a pair of former light heavyweight champs in Ji?í Procházka and Jamahal Hill collide, the always entertaining Kevin Holland meets ex-ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder, and Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac battle to establish themselves in the heavyweight title picture.

Ahead of the event, all fighters set to compete tomorrow night successfully made weight, and all that remains on Friday is for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC 311 ceremonial weigh-ins!

Check out a live stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, commencing at 7 PM ET.

UFC 311 Ceremonial Weigh-In Video