Makhachev has been nearly perfect in the Octagon, winning 15 of his 16 UFC fights. His lone loss was against Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015. Most recently, Makhachev beat Dustin Poirier by fifth-round submission to retain the belt at UFC 302 last June. Moicano took the fight on late notice, after Arman Tsarukyan withdrew due to injury.

UFC 311 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood will feature Islam Makhachev defending his lightweight title against Renato Moicano. Follow along for live updates.

Dvalishvili will also need to be mindful inside of scrambles given his propensity to expose his back when returning to standing positions. As Nurmagomedov has already shown in the octagon, the Dagestani fighter is incredibly systematic and effective when it comes to breaking down his opponents from rear mount and riding positions.

The first UFC pay-per-view of the year is fast approaching. UFC 311 is built as a card that should appeal to hardcore fight fans, with fantastic pairings of familiar names from the prelims through the main event.

The first major UFC event of 2025 takes place this weekend as the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles hosts UFC 311 (3am Sunday, TNT Sports 1). And two title fights headline an intriguing card in LA, with Merab Dvalishvili taking on Umar Nurmagomedov for the bantamweight title before Islam Makhachev faces Arman Tsarukyan in the main event for the lightweight belt.