Martial Arts News

Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili received the highest disclosed purse from UFC 311.

The California State Athletic Commission recently released salaries from the event, which took place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles in Saturday night. Dvalishvili, who defeated Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event, earned $500,000 for his efforts. Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, garnered $100,000 in defeat.

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Meanwhile, reigning lightweight king Islam Makhachev earned a disclosed $200,000 for his first-round submission of Renato "Money" Moicano ($250,000) in the evening’s headliner. All told, 12 fighters received six-figure paydays at the conclusion of UFC 311.

Note: The disclosed purses reported by state athletic commissions do not include any performance-based or discretionary bonuses that may be awarded to a fighter by the promotion. Additionally, the reported figures do not reflect any deductions made by the commission for taxes, insurance, etc., and do not in…

Tagir Ulanbekov claims his fighting spirit sets him apart from everyone Alexandre Pantoja has ever faced.

Ulanbekov handed Clayton Carpenter his first pro loss via unanimous decision victory in the card opener at UFC 311 on Saturday. Likely to enter the Top 10 of the UFC rankings with his win over Carpenter, Ulanbekov called for a title shot against Pantoja in his post-fight interview. Pantoja has walked through almost the entire flyweight division during his championship reign. Ulanbekov belongs to a long line of special athletes trained in the mountains of Dagestan by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Ulanbekov believes it is the tutelage of Abdulmanap that has gifted them with a spirit that sets them apart from others. And according to the 33-year-old, it is this spirit that will give him the edge over Pantoja.

“I have nothing. All I have is a heart of a champion. And I’m gonna win it with my fighting spirit,” Ulanbekov said at his post-…

👏Beneil Dariush announces that the UFC will pay him both his SHOW and WIN money following the UFC 311 main event change:

“It’s excellent, I can’t complain. They’re giving me both show and win money…I appreciate Dana, I appreciate the UFC, I appreciate Hunter”

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🎥@TheSchmo312… pic.twitter.com/cx7vUgTIYm — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 18, 2025

Beneil Dariush is being taken care of, as Dana White had promised.

Dariush was originally scheduled to fight Renato Carneiro at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Las Vegas. However, the card saw some turbulence on the day of the weigh-ins when the main event fell through. Islam Makhachev was supposed to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in the headliner. However, Tsarukyan was forced out at the last moment due to a back injury.

Dariush received a call from manager Ali Abdelaziz informing him that there could be a last-minute change. Hav…

Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov engaged in an exhausting five-round battle in the UFC 311 co-main event, and the bantamweight combatants were rewarded for their efforts.

Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 for their bantamweight championship scrap on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Nurmagomedov’s superior speed and athleticism was on display in the early going, but Dvalishvili gradually took control thanks to his blend of pace and conditioning to earn a hard-fought unanimous decision triumph.

Elsewhere, Jiri Prochazka took home a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” check for his stoppage of fellow former champion Jamahal Hill in a thrilling light heavyweight affair. Prochazka dropped his opponent in the opening period and then endured some punishment before putting Hill away with another knockdown and a salvo of offense at the 3:01 mark of Round 3.

Finally, Jailton Almeida earned the card’s other…

Islam Makhachev exploits the slightest of openings.

The American Kickboxing Academy star kept his stranglehold on the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title, as he dismissed Renato “Money” Moicano with a brabo choke in the first round of their UFC 311 headliner on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. A short-notice fill-in for Arman Tsarukyan, Moicano (20-6-1, 12-6 UFC) checked out 4:05 into Round 1.

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Makhachev (27-1, 16-1 UFC) completed a takedown midway through the first round, settled in half guard and went to work. Moicano initiated a scramble, only to wander into the champion’s clutches. Makhachev rolled into position for the choke, tightened his squeeze and elicited the tapout. With that, he put his 15th straight victory in the books, leaving him one shy of Anderson Silva’s all-time UFC record.

Meanwhile, Merab Dvalishvili wore down the previously unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov with his breakneck pace and ret…

Sherdog's live UFC 311 coverage will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Ulanbekov (-325), Carpenter (+260)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:

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Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round: The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS: Sopai (-355), Turcios (+280)Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:Scottie Smith scores the round:Tyler Treese scores the round:The Official Result BETTING PREVIEW | SCOUTING REPORT | ODDS…

Raoni Barcelos reminded any and all upstarts in the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight division that experience still matters.

The onetime Resurrection Fighting Alliance and Shooto Brazil titleholder cruised to a surprisingly one-sided unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Payton Talbott in the featured UFC 311 prelim on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Barcelos (19-5, 8-4 UFC) carried all three scorecards: 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26.

Talbott (9-1, 3-1 UFC) was undone by shoddy takedown defense. Barcelos grounded him repeatedly, floated from one dominant position to the next and even achieved full mount on multiple occasions. Any momentum Talbott tried to build in standup exchanges was quickly snuffed out by the Brazilian. Barcelos tied a bow on his performance late in the third round, where he advanced to the back, flattened out the Reno Academy of Combat representative an uncorked punches from both hands.

Meanwhile, former Legacy…

Alex Pereira will defend his light heavyweight crown against Magomed Ankalaev in the UFC 313 main event on March 8.

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The promotion announced the booking during the UFC 311 broadcast on Saturday night. Additionally, Justin Gaethje will square off against Dan Hooker in a five-round, co-main event clash. UFC 313 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

While Pereira recently hinted that he wouldn’t be facing Ankalaev next, perhaps that was a bit of gamesmanship from the popular Brazilian. A former UFC middleweight champion, “Poatan” is 5-0 since moving up to 205 pounds. He claimed the vacant light heavyweight belt with a second-round stoppage of Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 and has since defended the strap with successive stoppages against Jamahal Hill, Prochazka and Khalil Rountree.

Ankalaev, meanwhile, is unbeaten in his last 13 Octagon appearances. His initial shot at championship gold came against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 282, but the bout …

The man behind the show that changed this sport 🫡

Welcome Craig Piligian to the UFC Hall of Fame! @UltimateFighter pic.twitter.com/s2zhRYwpql

— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2025

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One of the key figures in the birth of “The Ultimate Fighter” will be headed to the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.

During the UFC 311 broadcast, it was announced that producer Craig Piligian will be inducted into the Contributor Wing for his role in helping bring “TUF” to life. The long-running reality show was born when Piligian met with UFC president Dana White and former UFC CEO to “discuss an unscripted television series aimed at showcasing and promoting the organization’s brand and 16 athletes living together in a house while competing for a six-figure contract with UFC,” according to a release.

“TUF 1” debuted on Jan. 17, 2005 on Spike TV and was produced by Piligian’s Pilgrim Media Group. The show served as something of a launching point …

😬Khabib thinks the UFC made Merab Dvalishvili accept the fight with Umar Nurmagomedov:

“I believe the UFC… pressured [Merab] and made him fight [Umar]… The UFC needed a co-main event fight, that’s my personal opinion.”

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🎥 YT Gorilla Fighting ▫️ pic.twitter.com/2nFxkVFD27 — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 17, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) doesn’t want to fight Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0).

Umar challenges Dvalishvili for the bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. While Umar has long been the most eligible candidate for a title shot, the matchup didn’t come to fruition without some drama.

After winning the strap against Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 last year, Dvalishvili initially made it clear that he didn’t want his first title defense to be against Umar. “The Machine” claimed Umar was still undeserving of a title shot and wa…

🫡Demestrious Johnson thinks the UFC 311 card is better with Renato Moicano stepping in to fight Islam Makhachev on short notice, and believes Moicano is a more dangerous fight for Makhachev than Arman Tsarukyan:

“I think it’s a better fight…I think it’s a tougher fight for… pic.twitter.com/gFGQZtoMUd

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 18, 2025

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Demetrious Johnson considers Renato "Money Moicano" Carneiro (20-5) to be a dangerous opponent for Islam Makhachev (26-1).

The UFC 311 main event saw a last-minute change as Arman Tsarukyan was forced out of his lightweight title shot against Makhahcev due to an injury. “Moicano,” who was originally supposed to fight Beneil Dariush on the same card, stepped in on a day’s notice to challenge Makhachev. Meanwhile, UFC CEO Dana White has said that Dariush will be taken care of.

While Tsarukyan is the No. 1 ranked lightweight contender, Johnson believes “Moicano” could pos…

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

Makhachev will now be facing Moicano for the lightweight title. #UFC311 is LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus PPV! pic.twitter.com/2JZevvpQP2

— danawhite (@danawhite) January 17, 2025 Editor's note: The article has been updated at 3:45 PM ET on Jan. 17 to add statements from multiple fighters. The first big Ultimate Fighting Championship show of the year has just taken a monumental hit.

During the UFC 311 early weigh-ins on Friday, Sherdog learned from sources close to the situation that headlining lightweight title challenger Arman Tsarukyan suffered a back injury. As a result, he has been forced to withdraw from the main attraction against Islam Makhachev (26-1). The promotion turned to Renato "Money" Moicano (20-5-1), who was set to face off against Beneil Dariush on the main card. Per the UFC on Friday morning, Moicano has agreed to vie for the strap, and the new marquee match is set.

After the news broke, Tsarukyan…