Islam Makhachev has a new opponent for the fourth defense of his lightweight title at UFC 311: Renato Moicano. The latter replaced Arman Tsarukyan, who was forced to withdraw after suffering a back injury. The first PPV of 2025 airs live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on January 18.
Renato Moicano (20-5-1) of Brazil was originally scheduled to face Beneil Dariush (22-6-1). The Iranian-born, U.S.-based lightweight is no longer featured on the card.
At the official UFC 311 weigh-ins in the morning, Makhachev (26-1) weighed in at 154.5 lbs. Moicano tipped the scales at 155 lbs, also making the championship limit. Tsarukyan (22-3) did not weigh in.
UFC President Dana White confirmed the main event change following the weigh-ins.
“Around 1:00 am, we received a call from Arman Tsarukyan, who informed us that he was experiencing significant back pain due to the injury, he feels like he is not healthy enough to compete. So, he is out of the fight,” UFC CEO Dana White said.
“Stepping in to face Islam Makhachev for the title will be Renato Moicano. Moicano has been on a tear since moving up to 155 pounds and currently holds the longest active win streak amongst all fighters in the top 10 of the lightweight division.”
In 2024, Moicano defeated Benoit Saint-Denis and Jalin Turner via second-round TKO, and scored a unanimous decision against Drew Dober. Prior to that, in November 2022, the 35-year-old native of Brasilia, Distrito Federal submitted Brad Riddell in the first round.
The UFC 311 co-main event features bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) from Georgia and unbeaten challenger Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0). The fighters made it official, weighing in at 134 lbs and 135 lbs, respectively.
The current UFC 311 lineup is as follows
Main card
- Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano – Makhachev’s UFC lightweight title
- Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov – Dvalishvili’s UFC bantamweight title
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
- Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
- Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
Prelims
- Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
- Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
- Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
Early prelims
- Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
- Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
- Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
- Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter