UFC 311 fight grades: Did any fight top Dvalishvili-Nurmagomedov?
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
The UFC thought they’d return to some semblance of normalcy at UFC 311 after a tumultuous 2024. They were wrong. The wheels fell off just a day before the highly anticipated rematch between lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and the UFC’s No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan when the challenger was forced out with a back injury. Renato Moicano stepped up on short notice to keep the main event intact but was promptly submitted by Makhachev in the main event. But how did the rest of the card stack up after the last-minute changes?
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake.
Andreas Hale takes a look at all 13 fights at UFC 311 including the blistering battle between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov, Jiřà Procházka‘s knockout of Jamahal Hill in a high-octane striking affair and more.
Men’s bantamweight: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Result: Dvalishvili defeats Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision
Grade: A
Dvalishvili’s pace is something that should be studied in college courses. What that man continues to accomplish is extraordinary. After seemingly playing it safe the first two rounds, Dvalishvili cranked up the pressure as the rounds wore on, eventually breaking through on Nurmagomedov to retain his bantamweight title. To Nurmagomedov’s credit, he fought valiantly through exhaustion and gave Dvalishvili all he could handle, turning back 23 of the champion’s 30 takedown attempts. But watching Dvalishvili put forth a tireless pace, pushing the challenger to the brink of exhaustion and still having enough energy to showboat his way to victory was a treat.
Light heavyweight: Jiřà Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill
Result: Procházka defeats Hill by third-round TKO
Grade: A-
Two heavy-handed strikers put on an exceptional battle that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. The exchanges were furious with both having their moments. Procházka’s head movement prevented Hill from timing him but the danger was prevalent with neither fighter doing much by way of defense. Procházka eventually broke through in Round 3 and finished the job. Go out of your way to watch this fight.
Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Result: Almeida defeats Spivac by first-round TKO
Grade: B
A pair of giant grapplers ended up throwing hands as Almeida blasted Spivac out in Round 1. This had the potential to be a boring heavyweight fight and instead was incredibly entertaining. Almeida and Spivac started with grappling and position exchanges until the two stood up and the Brazilian exploded into a combination. Spivac did his best to avoid the inevitable but Almeida was determined to pick up his first knockout in two years.
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
Result: Makhachev defeats Moicano by first-round submission
Grade: B
Makhachev did exactly what he was supposed to do against a short-notice opponent in Moicano. It wasn’t competitive outside of a flash knockdown that Moicano scored in the round. But Makhachev quickly gathered himself, took his opponent down and snatched up a D’arce choke for the finish. This isn’t a fight you need to go out of your way to see due to the swift ending. Rather, it’s about watching greatness at work with Makhachev proving exactly why he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and cementing his place as the greatest lightweight of all time.
Middleweight: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
Result: De Ridder defeats Holland by first-round submission
Grade: B
The only fighter in the UFC to defeat Holland faster than de Ridder was Khamzat Chimaev. That tells you just how dominant the former two-division One Championship champion was in taking out Holland in 3:31. A swift takedown and some ground-and-pound, transitioning to Holland’s back and securing the submission was about as smooth as it gets for “The Dutch Knight.” Outside of Chimaev, Holland had never been run over like this. The division has officially been put on notice.
Middleweight: Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
Result: Bekoev defeats Reese by first-round KO
Grade: B
This was a savage display of ground-and-pound that unfolded with a violent conclusion. What seemed like some relatively innocent ground strikes from Bekoev began to land with sickening thuds as Reese couldn’t escape the vicious assault. The power behind the punches only increased until Reese was knocked out. An impressive UFC debut from Bekoev that will certainly have interest piqued for his next outing.
Light heavyweight: Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
Result: Guskov defeats Elekana by second-round TKO
Grade: C+
Elekana, who stepped in on a week’s notice after Johnny Walker was forced out with an injury, was no match for Guskov. To his credit, Elekana threatened with chokes after an early takedown but Guskov thwarted the upset. After Guskov nearly ended the fight in the first round with a late rear-naked choke, “Czarevitch” played with his food in Round 2, engaging in an exchange of strikes with Elekana. Eventually, Guskov walked his opponent down and beat him up. With Elekana on bended knee, Guskov wrapped up a standing guillotine to get the job done. That’s three straight finishes for Guskov, who is climbing up the light heavyweight rankings.
Men’s bantamweight: Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
Result: Sopaj defeats Turcios by unanimous decision
Grade: C+
This was a fun, but relatively one-sided scrap where Sopaj’s counterstriking neutralized the aggressive Turcios. Still, Turcios showed his durability as he survived numerous sequences where he should have been knocked out. Between the crisp combination punching and thudding knees that bounced off of Turcios’ head, this was a strong outing for Sopaj.
Men’s bantamweight: Muin Gafurov vs. Rinya Nakamura
Result: Gafurov defeats Nakamura by unanimous decision
Grade: C+
This was an unexpected striking showcase for Gafurov, who handed Nakamura the first loss of his professional MMA career. Nakamura never recovered from an overhand right that dropped him in the opening minutes and spent the rest of the fight getting picked off by Gafurov. It’s possible that the showboating from Gafurov prevented him from getting a finish, but being this dominant despite being an 8-to-1 underdog was impressive to watch.
Men’s bantamweight: Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
Result: Barcelos defeats Talbott by unanimous decision
Grade: C
Barcelos knew that he was expected to be a stepping stone for Talbott, but the Brazilian used his grappling to stifle the rising star. Although the scores were wide and a majority of the fight took place on the ground, it was entertaining to watch Talbott calmly survive submission attempts and work his way out of difficult positions. The crowd nearly pushed this fight to a higher grade as their reactions made it more compelling than it was. But this was Barcelos’ night and he stuck to his game plan to pull off the massive upset (Barcelos was a +700 underdog per ESPN BET). There is still a diamond in the rough in Talbott but the Reno fighter is going to have to improve his takedown defense if he expects to be a major player at 135 pounds.
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
Result: Ulanbekov defeats Carpenter by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
This was a solid opener where Khabib Nurmagomedov’s pupil used his superior grappling to hand Carpenter the first loss of his MMA career. That’s about all there is to say, though. There was nothing offensive about the fight, but it is one that few will remember afterward.
Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
Result: Dawson defeats Ferreira by unanimous decision
Grade: D
Dawson delivered yet another trademark-smothering performance. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that fun to watch as Ferreira struggled to stay off his back. There were some spurts of action when the two decided to let their hands go but Dawson opted against putting himself at risk and grounded his opponent before anything substantial happened. Dawson picked up the win but there was nothing memorable about the fight.
Women’s bantamweight: Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
Result: Perez defeats Rosa by unanimous decision
Grade: F
If you want to see the air get sucked out of a building, watch this fight. It felt as if nothing happened for 15 minutes and Perez doing her trademark twerk celebration couldn’t save this from being virtually unwatchable. Both women have better performances in them. It just wasn’t their night.
UFC 311 fight card grade: B-
UFC 311 was trending toward being a forgettable night early on with a series of decisions and relatively uneventful fights. But the main card delivered with all five fights scoring high marks. Procházka and Hill’s exciting striking affair. Dvalishvili’s absurd pace. And Makhachev’s reigning dominance. Skip the prelims and go straight to the main card.
