Even with an 11th hour change to the main event, UFC 311 proved to be an outstanding kickoff to the UFC’s 2025 pay-per-view campaign.
The excitement and tension built throughout the night, culminating in a classic donnybrook between a pair of former light heavyweight titleholders before a pair of champions delivered efforts that further add to their growing legacies.
There is plenty to unpack and no time like the present to do it.
A Growing Case for G.O.A.T. Status

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Islam Makhachev became the first lightweight champion to successfully defend the title four times on Saturday night, clamping onto a tight D’arce choke late in the opening round of his impromptu title defense against Renato Moicano to close out the show at Intuit Dome, breaking a four-way tie with BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar, and Benson Henderson.
Along with moving ahead of that triumvirate in the annals of 155-pound history, Makhachev registered his 15th consecutive victory inside the Octagon, leaving him one shy of equaling the all-time mark held by the venerable Anderson Silva.
UFC 311 REWIND: Prelim Results | Main Card Results | Official Scorecards
When you have the most consecutive successful title defenses in one of the deepest, more consistently dangerous weight classes and are a win away from equaling a mark that only one other fighter has come close to equaling, you have at least a starter case for being included in any Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T.) conversations.
Makhachev has gone 16-1 in the UFC and 27-1 overall, with two wins over then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski and victories over former titleholder Charles Oliveira and former interim champ Dustin Poirier, as well as Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker, and King Green. But it’s not just the numbers that elevate the current lightweight ruler in the pantheon of all-time greats.

He won the title by taking down and submitting Oliveira in the second round when “Do Bronxs” was at the peak of his powers, riding an 11-fight winning streak and looking close to unstoppable. His first fight with Volkanovski was an all-time classic that forced people to reexamine their approach to counter-wrestling, while the second meeting was a stunning finish that came at the other end of the time spectrum compared to its predecessor.
He battled through rough spots against Poirier before showing his championship mettle by clamping onto a similar finish to the one he used to dispatch Moicano on Saturday, which was a high-risk, low-reward pairing against a streaking finisher that he showed zero hesitation in taking.
At every turn, Makhachev took on whoever was next in line and turned them aside, maintaining the same approach he carried while climbing the divisional ladder now that he’s seated on the lightweight throne, and it doesn’t appear to be changing. While he has double- and even triple-champ ambitions, the 32-year-old is also committed to defending his title whenever the UFC comes calling, and if he’s successful the next time out, the lightweight champ will draw level with “The Spider” for the most consecutive victories in UFC history.
We talk all the time about how defending a title multiple times is exceptionally difficult, and recognize the lightweight division as one of the two or three most competitive weight classes in the UFC.
Makhachev is dominating the 155-pound ranks like no one else, and it’s time we start including him in our G.O.A.T. conversations, because if he keeps this up for a couple more fights, there won’t be any discussions to be had; the title will be his and his alone.
Conditioning is King

Merab Dvalishvili’s conditioning might be the greatest weapon being brandished by anyone in the sport right now and it is undeniably the reason “The Machine” left Los Angeles with the bantamweight title still in his possession.
Saturday’s co-main event title bout with unbeaten challenger Umar Nurmagomedov played out precisely how Tyson Chartier and I discussed in the Coach Conversation series previewing the contest, with the champion unbothered by dropping early rounds, knowing that as the fight continued, his gas tank was going to hold up when Nurmagomedov’s was likely to start running dry.
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Over the first two rounds, Dvalishvili seemed content to mix things up with his unbeaten adversary; happy to get in his face, trade some shots, wrestle, smile, play to the crowd, and just have a grand ol’ time. He knew he was carrying a weapon that no one can counter nor match, and so he simply trusted that he would be able to do to Nurmagomedov what he had done to nearly everyone else during the course of his rise to the top of the division: take them into deep waters and eventually drown them.
He began clawing his way back into the fight on the scorecards in the third, and by the midway point of the fourth, the final outcome felt guaranteed. Nurmagomedov was unable to maintain the freakish pace Dvalishvili had set, while the champion just kept coming. By the time the final round began, it didn’t matter that, officially, the two men were even on two scorecards and the fight hung in the balance; all the momentum was in the champion’s favor and there was no reversing it.

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There is no way to prepare for the pace Dvalishvili competes at inside the Octagon because no one else in the sport operates at such a break-neck pace while bringing dominant wrestling and steadily improving hands to the table, as well. You can’t account for what his pressure feels like in there, and it makes the bantamweight champion a true one-of-one and a potentially dominant force in one of the most competitive divisions in the sport.
As strong as his wrestling is, as good as his hands are getting, it’s the fact that he’s on you non-stop, constantly pressing forward, crowding your space, neutralizing your attacks and nullifying what you want to do by just always being right in your face that changes the complexion of these fights. Nurmagomedov was game, but the undefeated standout just couldn’t maintain his output and effectiveness the more the fight wore on.
Conditioning is the biggest weapon of a pair of champions currently riding double-digit winning streaks inside the Octagon, and it would be shocking if we didn’t see more fighters commit themselves to trying to add it to their arsenals going forward.
Development Time Is Essential (Part Three)
For the third straight event, we have a developmental moment to discuss following UFC 311, but unlike UFC 309 and UFC 310 where we talked about the steady positive growth of Bo Nickal and Chase Hooper in the wake of them having picked up key victories, this time we need to talk about a fighter coming off a setback.

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Payton Talbott suffered the first loss of his professional career on Saturday night, falling to Brazilian veteran Raoni Barcelos by unanimous decision. He was out-wrestled for large portions of the contest, and when he started building positive momentum on the feet, he wasn’t able to fully capitalize, as the savvy veteran circled into space and eventually put the prospect back on the deck.
Talbott entered the contest as a massive betting favorite and branded as a can’t-miss prospect; someone that was expected by many to blow through Barcelos and make a case for a date with a Top 15 opponent in just his fourth UFC appearance and 10th professional bout.
There are going to be people calling this a “fraud check” — ignore them.
Variants of this fight — battles between promising youngsters and established veterans — appear on just about every fight card for this precise reason: to gauge where the ascending talent is at in their development and determine whether or not they are genuinely ready to take the next step.

Some pass with flying colors, others eke by, and a ton of people falter. What matters most is how they rebound, if they rebound at all.
Talbott is 28 years old; he’s smart, unquestionably talented, and still has an abundance of upside. Chances are if you asked him, he would tell you he didn’t expect to have an unblemished march to the top of the division. He knew this fight was going to be a struggle; it just happened to be more than he bargained for and turned into a chance to make some adjustments and grow as a fighter.
He will be better because of this, and will become better as a result of this.
We have to stop expecting immediate greatness for untested fighters and remember that experience is crucial. This was a massive step up in competition and one that proved to be just a little too steep, but that doesn’t mean that Talbott won’t make that climb in the future.
Quick Hitters
Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill turned in a barnburner midway through the main card, with both men taking some massive shots and returning them in kind before the Czech finisher scored the third-round stoppage win. There are few fighters on the roster that are more consistently entertaining than the former light heavyweight champion.

The floor for Jailton Almeida has now been firmly established; what remains in question is where the ceiling rests. The Brazilian finished Serghei Spivac in the opening round of their UFC 311 main card matchup, moving to 8-1 inside the Octagon and cementing his place just outside the Top 5 in the heavyweight division in the process. Now it’s time to find out if “Malhadinho” can maintain this success fighting forward against the division’s elite.
Reinier de Ridder made quick work of Kevin Holland, dispatching the popular middleweight in the first round. That’s two wins and two finishes in three months for the Dutch newcomer, who lobbied for a Top 5 matchup next time out, and should get a date with a ranked opponent at the very least.
Azamat Bekoev is someone to pay very close attention to in the middleweight division going forward. His knockout win over Zachary Reese was scary.
Grant Dawson may not have put together a highlight reel finish over Diego Ferreira in Intuit Dome, but I’ll be damned if the American Top Team product isn’t wildly effective. He’s 11-1-1 in the UFC, and should get a Top 15 assignment next time out.

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Ailin Perez just keeps winning. The Argentine twerker has the longest active winning streak in the bantamweight division and continues to call out fighters at the top of the heap. You gotta appreciate her moxie.
Muin Gafurov entered UFC 311 as the B-side in his matchup with Rinya Nakamura, but exited as an intriguing addition to the deep collection of skilled competitors working forward in the 135-pound ranks.
One Last Thing
Shouts to the broadcast crew and the production team for an outstanding pay-per-view debut on Saturday night — the graphics looked incredible throughout the broadcast and it was amazing being back with Jon Anik, Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier, and Megan Olivi for the first time in too many weeks.
2025 is going to be a very entertaining year inside the Octagon; mark my words.
See you after UFC 312.
UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano took place live from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on January 18, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!