New Opponent – Same Result for Makachev
If anyone doubted whether the last minute opponent change would get to Islam Makachev, he defiantly answered that question in just over four minutes! The UFC was forced to make a change to the UFC 311 main event with less than 48 hours to go as Arman Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw with back problems. The highly anticipated rematch will unfortunately have to wait for another day.
Instead of cancelling the Lightweight Championship main event, Dana White informed us that they was bumping Renanto Moicano up to the main event. Now, you wouldn’t have blamed the UFC if they did cancel it, as they had the Bantamweight title fight down as the co-main event and this could have easily been turned into the main event. But they wanted to keep the show going, so they instead removed Brazilian Moicano from his bout with Dariush and pushed him up to the main event.
It was a win-win situation for Moicano for many reasons. Firstly, he was getting a shot at lightweight glory. Secondly, it was almost deemed a free shot as he hadn’t prepared for Makhachev and as such the pressure was off him. Lastly, he was doing the UFC a favor and saving the show. You have to feel the UFC owes him one now.
Moicano’s Time in the Spotlight Lasts Four Minutes
Because of the late change many didn’t expect much from Moicano in the main event and unfortunately he delivered on that. To be fair, the Brazilian did catch Islam with some sharp, snappy shots which got the champs attention. So much so that Makhavchev took the fight to mat where it ultimately ended. He managed to lock in a D’arce choke and submitted his opponent in a little over four minutes.
The win for Makhachev was his fourth title defense and it’s hard to see where a challenge will come from in the lightweight division. Perhaps the move up to welterweight could be on the cards with a showdown against champion Belal Muhammad.
Despite the first round lose, Moicano still has plenty of options ahead of him. A rearranged fight with Beneil Dariush is likely on the cards next.
Dvalishvili Retains Title
The co-main event went down exactly how we and many other MMA experts expected it to. However, it was still a decent bout that was a tale of two halves. The challenger Nurmagomedov started the better, offering up a good mixture of striking and grappling that probably won him the first two rounds. Did he switch off thinking he had just one more round to win the claim victory or was it Merab’s ridiculous cardio that turned the fight around?
I’m not sure, possibly a bit of both. The champ took the next two rounds to tie up the fight and Nurmagomedov looked finished, both mentally and physically, at the end of the fourth. Dvalishvili continued to press the pace in the fifth, going on to claim a unanimous points decision win.
The defeat for Nurmagomedov was the first of his career and its intriguing to know how it will affect him and where he goes from here. He still has plenty of options ahead of him, with a possible title eliminator with the number one ranked Sean O’Malley being one of them. For the champ, the sky is the limit and although he’s a relatively short bantamweight, you wouldn’t rule out him moving up a weight to meet featherweight king Ilia Topuria further down the line.
Prochazka Wins Bout Between Former Champs
Another fight that went the way many though it would was the light heavyweight showdown between former champs Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Both men are known for not hanging around and wanting to get the job done as quickly as possible and it showed in this one.
They traded shots from the off and heading into the third and finally round it was anyone’s guess who would be the winner. That’s because Prochazka took the first round, causing the most damage with his shots. Hill bounced back in the second as he seemed to switch up his game plan up and work the body more. However, midway through the third, Prochazka got back on top in this back and forth contest, dropping Hill and swarming all over him to claim a TKO victory.
Oddly, it’s hard to know where the win puts Prochazka. That’s because the only man to defeat him in the UFC is current light heavyweight title holder Alex Pereira. And he’s done so emphatically twice, so you have to feel a third fight isn’t very appealing for the Brazilian. Especially when many are touting him for potential super fights with the likes of Jon Jones. Pereira is booked for a showdown for the number one contender Magomed Ankalaev and you have to think Prochazka will be willing the challenger on in this one so that he can then go on to claim another title shot.
For Hill it’s unclear where his future lays. Although he has now lost back to back fights, with both defeats coming by way of a stoppage, you would think that he doesn’t need a knee jerk reaction. It’s probably back to the drawing board, make some adjustments and get back to it. Personally, I would like to see him go up against someone like Khalil Rountree Jr. I think that would make for a classic fight.
Other Results on the Card
Jailton Almeida defeated Serghei Spivac via First Round TKO
Reinier De Ridder defeated Kevin Holland via First Round Submission
Raoni Barcelos defeated Payton Talbot via Unanimous Decision
Azamat Bekoev defeated Zachary Reese via First Round KO
Bogdan Guskov defeated Billy Elekana via Second Round Submission
Grant Dawson defeated Diego Ferreira via Unanimous Decision
Ailin Perez defeated Karol Rosa via Unanimous Decision
Muin Gafurov defeated Rinya Nakamura via Unanimous Decision
Bernardo Sopaj defeated Ricky Turcios via Unanimous Decision
Tagir Ulanbekov defeated Clayton Carpenter via Unanimous Decision
By Dean McHugh
