#UFC311 It keeps getting better 😮💨
January 18th can’t come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jbiVNLdpRu
— UFC (@ufc)
December 5, 2024
Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight fighter Renato “Money” Moicano is getting his wish a little later than expected. The organization on Thursday announced the full fight list and order for UFC 311, to be held on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Many of the fights had already been announced or reported, including the headliner Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan for the lightweight title rematch, and the co-featured bout for the bantamweight gold medal between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. Notably, the promotion revealed that Beneil Darish (22-6-1) will be tossing down lightweight Moicano (20-5-1) on the main card. Additionally, Tagir Ulanbekov and Clayton Carpenter will serve as flyweight curtain jerkers.
Darish enters the cage after more than a year off, but his last exit came at UFC on ESPN 52, when he faced Tsarukyan and lost in 64 seconds. It was the veteran’s second consecutive first-round knockout loss as Charles Oliveira knocked him down in just over four minutes, ending his eight-fight win streak. Before the two setbacks, Dariush had notable victories over names like Mateusz Gamlot, Drew Dober, Diego Ferreira, and Tony Ferguson, while also achieving one of the few spinning backfists in company history. Registered one of the knockouts.
Brazil’s Carneiro is on a roll in 2024, with three wins over Dobell, Jalyn Turner, and Benoit Saint-Denis. Moicano called out Dariş on social media after defeating Dover, but the top-ranked matchup has yet to come. The American Top Team-trained submission specialist earned the first two knockout wins of his career in his last two starts, the latter coming by doctor stoppage.
UFC 311 will take place on January 18th at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, with the main event and lightweight glory between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan 2. The other title fight ahead of this will take place at 135 pounds, with Merab Dvalishvili defending his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. The main card also includes a potential light heavyweight title eliminator that pits Jiri Prochazka against Jamahal Hill, and a thriller matchup that pits Kevin Holland against Reinier de Ridder at middleweight.
