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Dana White is finally ready to give Islam Makhachev his flowers.

After Makhachev retained his lightweight title with a first-round submission of Renato Carneiro in the UFC 311 main event on Saturday night, White conceded that the Dagestani is the top pound-for-pound talent in the sport. That’s a significant change in course for White, who for months has expressed his displeasure that Makhachev was ranked ahead of heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the promotion’s pound-for-pound poll.

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“He’s already the pound-for-pound No. 1 ranking. Yeah, I’ll give it to him,” White said at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “Is everybody happy now that he’s pound-for-pound?

The UFC CEO came away impressed with Makhachev’s willingness to adapt when original foe Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of the main event just one day before their fight. The reigning lightweight champ didn’t blink when “Moicano” was proposed as a replacement foe on short notice.

“Islam w…

Dana White is finally ready to give Islam Makhachev his flowers.

After Makhachev retained his lightweight title with a first-round submission of Renato Carneiro in the UFC 311 main event on Saturday night, White conceded that the Dagestani is the top pound-for-pound talent in the sport. That’s a significant change in course for White, who for months has expressed his displeasure that Makhachev was ranked ahead of heavyweight champion Jon Jones in the promotion’s pound-for-pound poll.

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“He’s already the pound-for-pound No. 1 ranking. Yeah, I’ll give it to him,” White said at the UFC 311 post-fight press conference. “Is everybody happy now that he’s pound-for-pound?

The UFC CEO came away impressed with Makhachev’s willingness to adapt when original foe Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of the main event just one day before their fight. The reigning lightweight champ didn’t blink when “Moicano” was proposed as a replacement foe on short notice.

“Islam w…

The Good Guy vs The Bad Guy 👊@DC_MMA and @ChaelSonnen will coach Season 33 of #TUF! pic.twitter.com/x2Lo53ycx9

— UFC (@ufc) January 19, 2025

Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will serve as rival coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter 33.”

The UFC veterans announced the news during the UFC 311 broadcast on Saturday night. “TUF 33” is expected to feature welterweights and flyweights and will premiere on May 27. Cormier and Sonnen, who are co-hosts on the “Good Guy/Bad Guy” podcast on ESPN, both have previous coaching experience on the long-running reality show.

A former two-division champion, Cormier was enshrined in the UFC’s Hall of Fame in 2022. The American Kickboxing Academy stalwart captured belts at both heavyweight and light heavyweight while also winning the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix earlier in his career.

Sonnen is a former UFC title challenger at both middleweight and light heavyweight and has long been known for hi…

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…

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.

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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.

Mean…

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…

The lightweight champion is on weight 👏@MAKHACHEVMMA comes in at 154.5lbs!

[ #UFC311 | Live TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus PPV | 10pmET ] pic.twitter.com/tIll9zoaEV

— UFC (@ufc) January 17, 2025 After a hectic UFC 311 weigh-ins, it's now official that the Ultimate Fighting Championship's first pay-per-view of the year has a new main event.

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Now headlining the 13-fight card is a fight between Islam Makhachev and Renato "Money" Moicano for the lightweight championship. This comes after Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from a championship rematch at the last minute due to a back injury. Meanwhile, the co-main event will see Merab Dvalishvili look to make his first title defense against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

Makhachev (26-1) prepared during his camp for Tsarukyan, who he defeated the Octagon in 2019. Since his unanimous decision victory, the Dagestani fighter has claimed the lightweight title from Charles Oliveira and defende…

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…

At 40 years of age, a Ultimate Fighting Championship great is deciding to hang up his gloves.

During the UFC 311 early weigh-in show on Friday, Chris Weidman (16-8) announced his retirement from the sport. “The All-American” last competed in December, coming up short to Eryk Anders in the second round when the former football player punched him out. While he struggled towards the end of his career, Weidman started strong by amassing a 13-0 record while beating many of the best names ever to compete at 185 pounds in the Octagon.

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“I’ve been holding it in for a while,” Weidman said with mixed emotions on his face. “I got a big fight set up,” he teased to fellow former champ Daniel Cormier. “Listen, since I decided to get into this sport since 2009, the goal was to be a UFC fighter. Then, immediately the goal was to become a UFC world champion. Fourteen years later, I’m here, and I’m here to tell you guys that I’m hanging up the gloves in the UFC, and […

Renato "Money Moicano" Carneiro will take plenty of momentum into his showdown with Beneil Dariush at UFC 311.

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The Brazilian standout has won his last four Octagon appearances and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Benoit St. Denis at UFC Paris this past September. Even though he’s already enjoyed plenty of success, Dariush would be Carneiro’s most significant victory to date.

“St. Denis was also a good grappler, but I believe Dariush is even better, so I believe that fight will go to the ground,” Moicano recently told Sherdog.com while declining to predict a clear method of victory.

“I’ll knock him out, submit him or win via decision. I don’t know. I’m just sure that I´m in a great position, and I´ll leave that Octagon with another win.”

The American Top Team representative also doesn’t have a callout in mind should he get his hand raised on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

“I don’t care about names,” he said. “…

The legal hits keep on coming for Conor McGregor.

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According to a report from Front Office Sports, the former UFC two-division champion is being sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at the Kaseya Center in Miami during an NBA Finals game in 2023. The civil lawsuit was filed in Florida federal court on Tuesday by a woman identified as “Jane Doe.” The Miami Heat, which hosted the game, and Basketball Properties LLC, which runs the venue, are also named as defendants in the lawsuit for overserving McGregor.

The Dublin native did not face criminal charges in the case when prosecutors determined there was “insufficient evidence” as well as “contradicting and/or no corroborating witnesses” to prove that McGregor raped a woman in the bathroom during an NBA Finals game between the Heat and Denver Nuggets on June 9, 2023.

The alleged victim is identified as a 49-year-old woman who lives in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and “employed as a Senio…

One of the lasting images from the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first event of 2025 was that of Victoria Dudakova slapping one of her coaches following a loss to Fatima Kline.

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As it turns out, Dudakova has a more personal relationship with the object of her wrath: He’s also her husband. On Tuesday, Dudakova released a statement apologizing for the incident.

“The emotions have calmed down a bit,” Dudakova wrote on Instagram. “First of all, I would like to apologize to my husband and coach. I was upset that at such a difficult moment, he turned away from me and did not want to go into the cage. This is not an excuse and I am not looking for an excuse for myself. I did the wrong thing, I could not control my emotions. I set a bad example for athletes and the younger generation. I also want to apologize to sports fans. Thank you to everyone who stays with me in such a difficult situation.”

😳Victoria Dudakova slapped one …

You only get 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧.☝️

64 Fighters. Single elimination tournament 💰🏆

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One Shot to WIN. One Shot to ADVANCE. One Shot at a WORLD TITLE#PFLWorldTournament pic.twitter.com/7YlTLgKPAB — PFL (@PFLMMA) January 15, 2025

As expected, Professional Fighters League is doing away with its season format in favor of grand-prix style tournaments in each weight class.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that it will be launching what is called its 2025 World Tournament beginning this April. The single-elimination brackets will feature eight fighters from eight different weight classes — heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweight. Winners will receive a $500,000 bonus, and according to a release, the PFL World Tournament will “pay out over $20 million in prize money” overall.

The first round of the tournament will begin in April, followed by semifin…

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Arman Tsarukyan has high praise for Adriano Martins, the only man to beat Islam Makhachev.

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Tsarukyan challenges Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Las Vegas. In preparation, Tsarukyan is training with Martins, who dealt Makhachev his lone career loss in 2015.

Makhachev faced Martins in his sophomore Ultimate Fighting Championship outing in 2015, when he suffered a first-round knockout loss. With Makhachev having since taken over the lightweight division, many attribute that loss to a lucky shot from Martins. However, Tsarukyan doesn’t think so after sparring with the Brazilian veteran. According to “Ahalkalakets,” Martins holds natural power in his hands, which left him bleeding for two weeks after getting hit in sparring.

“I’ll tell you straight, his punch is insane,” Tsarukyan told Ushatayka (h/t Home of Fight). “It’s not just a lucky punch, as people say. He…

Nate Diaz and Team Makhachev threw water bottles at each other backstage 😳 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/gr3TDd5abt

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 7, 2024

Nate Diaz claims he doesn’t remember meeting Islam Makhachev in an elevator.

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Makhachev’s and Diaz’s teams recently got into a near-brawl over unclear reasons. Makhachev defends his title against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The lightweight champ was in Las Vegas for a presser this past December when he came across Diaz, who was cornering teammate Kron Gracie against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 310.

Both teams hurled water bottles at each other and have later accused the other side of starting the altercation. Makhachev believes Diaz hurled the first water bottle, mistaking one of his teammates to be Khabib Nurmagomedov. Makhachev also recently said that Diaz was respectful towards him when they allegedly met in an elevator a few mont…

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Aljamain Sterling thinks Merab Dvalishvili will retain his bantamweight title against Umar Nurmagomedov.

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Dvalishvili will defend his strap against Nurmagomedov in the co-main event at UFC 311 on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Many expect Nurmagomedov to pose the biggest threat to Dvalishvili so far with his strong wrestling base and well-rounded skillset. However, Sterling believes fans are overestimating the level of competition from Nurmagomedov, at least in terms of the wrestling.

Nurmagomedov’s most high-caliber win so far came against Cory Sandhagen, who was able to defend the Dagestani’s takedown attempts multiple times. Based on that fight, Sterling doesn’t see Nurmagomedov posing a threat to Dvalishvili, who also comes from a grappling background.

“I mean if Cory Sandhagen could get ready, a guy who’s not coming from a grappling background at all – what do you think Merab is gonna do?” Sterling said on h…