UFC 311 went down last night (Sat., Jan. 18, 2025) inside the brand-new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, Calif., which saw Islam Makhachev retain his Lightweight title by defeating Renato Moicano via lightning-quick first round submission (see it again here). In the co-main event of the evening, Merab Dvalishvili retained his Bantamweight belt, defeating Umar Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision (scorecards here), while Jiri Prochazka knocked out Jamahal Hill in main card action (highlights).
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Winner: Islam Makhachev
Who He Should Face Next: Charles Oliveira rematch (by default)
Per Dana White, Arman Tsarukyan is not going to get the next title shot after he was forced to bail from UFC 311 with a bad back, leaving the door open for another worthy contender to step in. To be honest, no one other than Tsarukyan stands out at the moment because Makhachev has already defeated most of the Top 5 except for Max Holloway (he doesn’t deserve the shot … yet) and Justin Gaethje (he’ll be fighting Dan Hooker next). Oliveira is coming off win over Michael Chandler, so he might be the one who can make a case for the title fight next. Makhachev defeated him at UFC 280 two years ago to win the vacant strap (watch highlights), so it would be yet another rematch for the 155-pound champion.
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Winner: Merab Dvalishvili
Who He Should Face Next: Petr Yan rematch
Again, this is one of those rematches that could likely get made because no one else really stands out in the Top 5, as everyone except Yan is coming off a loss. Yan has actually won two in a row, and is holding on to the No. 3 spot in the division. The two men initially met in March 2023, with Dvalishvili defeating “No Mercy” via unanimous decision.
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Winner: Jiri Prochazka
Who He Should Face Next: Blachowicz vs. Ulberg winner
Prochazka earned a huge technical knockout win over Hill, and now he can look ahead to another potential tough matchup against the winner of the upcoming bout between Jan Blachowicz (No. 4) and Carlos Ulberg (No. 6), who are set to collide at the upcoming UFC London event on March 22, 2025.
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Winner: Jailton Almeida
Who He Should Face Next: Cyril Gane
Almeida has been calling for a fight against Gane for sometime now, and he did it one more time after taking out Serghei Spivac last night. Almeida improved to 8-1 inside the Octagon and is holding strong at the No. 6 spot. As for Gane, he is currently on a two-fight win streak and is coming off a split decision win over Alexander Volkov. This fight makes sense now more than ever.
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Winner: Reinier de Ridder
Who He Should Face Next: Michel Pereira
de Ridder has jumped out to a nice start to his UFC career, winning his first two fights via submission, which includes his first-round tap of Kevin Holland last night. Before the former ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight champions locks down a spot in the Top 15, he needs to beat someone ranked, and Pereira (No. 15) fits the bill perfectly. While Pereira is coming off a tough loss to Anthony Hernandez, he had won eight straight prior to that setback.
For complete UFC 311 results, coverage and highlights click HERE.
