INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: (L-R) Opponents Islam Makhachev of Russia and Arman Tsarukyan of … [+]
The UFC’s first pay-per-view event of the year happens on Saturday, January 18, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
UFC 311 will feature two championship bouts. In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev will defend his title against Renato Moicano. Originally, the fight was supposed to be against Arman Tsarukyan, but he pulled out due to injury.
In the co-main event, UFC men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: (L-R) Opponents Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia and Merab … [+]
The early prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET. Here is a look at the complete card, as well as the start times for all three sections of the event, along with viewing info.
UFC 311 Main Card (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View)
- UFC Lightweight Title Bout: Islam Makhachev (Champion) vs. (10) Renato Moicano
- UFC Bantamweight Title Bout: Merab Dvalishvili (Champion) vs. (2) Umar Nurmagomedov
- Lightweight Bout: (9) Beneil Dariush pulled
- Light Heavyweight Bout: (2) Jiří Procházka vs. (3) Jamahal Hill
- Middleweight Bout: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
UFC 311 Preliminary Card (8 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS & ESPN+)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: (13) Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
- Bantamweight Bout: Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
- Heavyweight Bout: (6) Jailton Almeida vs. (7) Serghei Spivac
- Middleweight Bout: Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
UFC 311 Early Preliminary Card (6 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+)
- Lightweight Bout: Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
- Women’s Bantamweight Bout: Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez
- Bantamweight Bout: Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
- Bantamweight Bout: Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
- Flyweight Bout: (11) Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
UFC 311 Fights You’ll Want to See
205 Live
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: (L-R) Opponents Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic and Jamahal … [+]
Two former UFC light heavyweight champions Jiří Procházka and Jamahal Hill will clash in a hugely important fight. The winner stays in the mix for another shot at Alex Pereira and the light heavyweight title.
Procházka has already lost to Pereira twice, and Hill has felt Poatan’s wrath once. In any case, this one could become the Fight of the Night.
Reinier de Ridder’s Second UFC Bout
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 16: (L-R) Opponents Kevin Holland and Reinier de Ridder of The … [+]
Former ONE Championship two-division champion Reinier de Ridder makes his second Octagon walk as he faces Kevin Holland. RDR has not tried to hide his game plan for Holland.
He’s planning to take Holland down and look to submit him. Holland hits like a ton of bricks, but his takedown defense has been a bit faulty. A win for RDR might give him a ranking at middleweight. A loss would severely cripple his chances of rising to a championship level in the UFC.
The Prelims are Very Strong
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 15: Payton Talbott poses for a portrait during a UFC photo … [+]
Jailton Almeida is a real threat at heavyweight. He will take on Serghei Spivac. Many don’t like Almeida’s fighting style, but he arguably has the best Jiu-Jitsu of anyone in the heavyweight division.
It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with Spivac. Also, fast-rising prospect Payton Talbott will get his stiffest test as he faces Raoni Barcelos. Be on the lookout for post-event coverage on Saturday night.