#UFC311 just keeps getting BETTER 😮💨Jan 18 can’t come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jbiVNLdpRu
— UFC (@ufc)
December 5, 2024
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight Renato
“Money” Moicano is getting his wish, just a little later than
he expected.
Advertisement
The organization released the full bout listing and order for
UFC 311 on Thursday, which is taking place on Jan. 18 at the
Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Many of the matchups had already been
announced or reported, including its headliner of Islam
Makhachev vs. Arman
Tsarukyan rematching for the lightweight strap, and its co-main
attraction of Merab
Dvalishvili vs. Umar
Nurmagomedov with bantamweight gold on the line. Of note, the
promotion revealed that on the main card, Beneil
Dariush (22-6-1) would be throwing down with Moicano (20-5-1)
in the lightweight division. Additionally, Tagir
Ulanbekov and Clayton
Carpenter will serve as the flyweight curtain jerker.
Dariush will enter the cage after taking over a year off, with his
last time out coming at UFC on ESPN 52 when he battled and lost to
Tsarukyan in 64 seconds. It was the second first-round knockout in
a row that the veteran had suffered, as Charles
Oliveira crushed his eight-fight win streak by putting him down
in a little over four minutes. Before the two setbacks, Dariush had
picked up notable wins over names including Mateusz
Gamrot, Drew Dober,
Diego
Ferreira and Tony
Ferguson, while also registering one of a small number of
spinning back fist knockouts in company history.
Brazil’s Carneiro has plenty of momentum behind him, including
three wins in 2024 over Dober, Jalin
Turner and Benoit St.
Denis. After getting past Dober, Moicano called out Dariush on
social media, but he did not get that top-ranked matchup yet. A
submission specialist by trade, the American Top Team-trained
fighter earned his first two career knockout wins in his last two
appearances, although the latter came by doctor stoppage.
UFC 311 goes down on Jan. 18 in Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, with
Islam
Makhachev vs. Arman
Tsarukyan 2 on tap for the main event and lightweight glory.
The other title fight that precedes it comes at 135 pounds as
Merab
Dvalishvili defends his throne against Umar
Nurmagomedov. The main card will also include a potential light
heavyweight title eliminator as Jiri
Prochazka comes to blows with Jamahal
Hill, and a thriller at middleweight when Kevin
Holland faces Reinier
de Ridder.