Islam Makhachev Quickly Imposing Renato Moicano At UFC 311, Enters Record Record

JAKARTA - Islam Makhachev defended its lightweight title with a submission victory in the first round against Renato Moicano on Saturday, January 18, 2025, evening local time, at UFC 311's main event in Intuit Dome, California, United States.

After being brought down by a right hand blow, Makhachev (27-1) turned Moicano down.

As the challenger tried to get up, Makhachev grabbed with a lock and quickly tightened his grip. Without a direction, Moicano was forced to surrender in the 4:05 minute.

Moicano (20-6-1) - who was originally scheduled to fight Beneil Dariush at UFC 311 - was forced to fight for the world title with notice the day before when Arman Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw due to a back injury he suffered on Thursday as he lost weight.

It was not a foreign situation for Makhachev, who fought Alexander Volkanovski with an 11-day notification after Charles Oliveira stepped down from UFC 294 due to injury.

The same can be said for Moicano, who lost to Rafael dos Anjos with a four-day notification in the 160-pound catchweight class in 2022.

Moicano was installed as the underdog against Makhachev. The champion proves why he is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

"I'm not just talking. If my opponent gives me a small blow, I'll close tonight," Makhachev said of his quick win.

The UFC lightweight defending champion shows no signs of slowing down at his 33rd even though he faced a stronger opponent in no time.

"For me, it doesn't matter who can lift the load weighing 155 pounds, just get into the ring and stay in front of me," said Makhachev.

With this victory, Makhachev extended his winning record to 15, matching Kamaru Usman for his second-longest winning record in UFC history.

Anderson Silva is on top of it with a record 16 wins in a row, following Jon Jones with 20 UFC wins.

Makhachev's current record is 819 days, only losing to his coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who won the world for 1,077 days. The gap between students and teachers continues to narrow in every match.

Makhachev's fifth win in a title fight also broke the record for four champions alongside Benson Henderson, BJ Penn, and Khabib Nurmagomedov in lightweight history.

While the champion has hinted that he will move to the welterweight to become the second division champion, it seems Makhachev will likely remain in the lightweight class for the near future.

However, Tsarukyan will not return to be Makhachev's next opponent.

"He will return to the image board. Sometimes you lose the chance and he does," said UFC President Dana White, after the match.

Until the next opponent was decided, Makhachev said he welcomed all the challengers for his world title.

"I love this belt. It's not my job. If someone wants this belt, come to the arena," said Makhachev.

Makhachev's dominance has secured Khabib Nurmagomedov's MMA Eagles as one of the best gyms in the sport.

Unfortunately, Khabib's team only brought home one world title because Umar Nurmagomedov failed in his bid to win UFC gold against Merab Dvalishvili at the co-play event UFC 311.

However, the gym has another world champion, Usman Nurmagomedov, who will defend his Bellator lightweight title next weekend against Paul Hughes.