Merab Dvaslishvili pulled off a massive victory.
Though Merb had beaten Petr Yan, Henry Cejudo, and Sean O’Malley in his last three fights, the reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion came in as the underdog since his opponent was undefeated. And for the first two rounds, it sure did seem as if a new Bantamweight Champion would be crowned. But Merab came back in the third round and won via unanimous decision.
This was Merab’s first successful title defense. His record is now 19 wins and 4 losses. Nurmagomeddov suffered his first MMA loss. His record is now 18 wins and 1 loss. In terms of where Merab could go following his tremendous performance, it’s possible that Sean O’Malley could become the next challenger given Dvaslishvili’s comments following his UFC 311 victory.
“I want to fight the best guys in the division, like I always do,” Dvalishvili said. “That’s what excites me, the next best challenge. But I think I beat everybody in this division, but we’ll see whoever is the next best challenge. I think also [Sean] O’Malley, he was complaining about something and he really has a chance. We know he can really knock people out if he lands on you, he has a big chance. I see him as a challenge, too. Maybe he will make some changes this time and maybe we go toe-to-toe this time and it’s going to be a good fight, I think. But I’m a champion now, they have to call me out, and I’m ready to come back quick as soon as UFC wants me to come back.”
Merab Dvaslishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomeddov was an incredible war that won Fight of the Night. However, IsIam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano was a quick night for the UFC Lightweight Champion.
Now Moicano came in on short notice due to Arman Tsarukyan being forced out because of a back injury. A major upset could’ve happened since Islam went into the fight with a different opponent, but the 33-year-old proved why he was the UFC Lightweight Champion by getting Moicano into a D’Arce Choke in the very first round. This was Islam’s fourth title defense. He extended his record to 27 wins and 1 loss. Unfortunately for Moicano, he wasn’t able to capitalize off his first title opportunity and suffered his first loss within three years. He stands at 20 wins and 6 losses.
As for Arman Tsarukyan, don’t expect him to be next in line for Islam’s belt because the UFC President made it clear that he would have to work his way back up, “He’s not getting a title shot,” UFC CEO Dana White said about what’s next for Tsarukyan at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “That means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.”
But Islam is angling for a different fight against UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis, “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I told them I’m not [going to] leave this sport without second belt,” Makhachev said in his UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “I need the second belt to be, and after I’ll talk like ‘I’m the greatest’ or something. But right now, my goal is to be double champion. I don’t know if it’s going to be next fight or when, [but] I’m still fighting, still winning. I defend my belt how many times the UFC wants, I will defend. When they give me chance, I want to be double champion.”
Could we get such a big fight in 2025? I say book it Dana! Anyways, below is the full results of UFC 311:
- Islam Makhachev def. Renato Moicano via first-round submission (D’arce Choke)
- Merab Dvalishvili def. Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision
- Jiri Prochazka def. Jamahal Hill via third-round TKO
- Jailton Almeida def. Serghei Spivac via first-round TKO
- Reinier de Ridder def. Kevin Holland via first-round submission (rear-naked choke)
- Raoni Barcelos def. Payton Talbott via unanimous decision
- Azamat Bekoev def. Zach Reese via first-round KO
- Bogdan Guskarov def. Billy Elekana via second-round submission (guillotine)
- Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision
- Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision
- Muin Gafarov def. Rinya Nakamura via unanimous decision
- Bernardo Sopaj def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision
- Tagir Ulabekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision