UFC 311 Main Event Pick
The UFC absolutely delivered on their first event of the year last week, which now makes way for their first PPV card of the year. Headlined by two title fights, the promotion heads to Los Angeles amidst the ongoing wildfires. Read more UFC 311 main event pick below.
Many believe the decision to keep the event in LA is to help boost morale during an unfortunate time for the city. If that is the case, they have done a solid job of offering up a banger of a card. Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov vie for the bantamweight title in the co-main event, while main event honors are bestowed upon the lightweights with a new challenger emerging on weigh-in day.
Champion, Islam Makhachev, looks to defend his title for a fourth time after a June finish of Dustin Poirier.
Originally expected to take on Beneil Dariush on the main card, Renato Moicano gets the call up to replace an injured Arman Tsarukyan and pull off a massive upset.
Will the Dagestani continue his winning ways and domination of the weight class? Or will ‘Money’ Moicano capitalize on his popularity and opportunity to upset the champion? Read on to see how this lightweight matchup will go down and what to target to put some extra coin in your pocket.
Hey, while you’re at it, click here to check out our Godzilla Wins Daily Staff Picks!
Islam Makhachev
An October 2015 loss to Adriano Martins put a hiccup in Makhachev’s hopes of fighting for a title. That speed bump may have benefitted him in the end considering his closest training partner, Khabib, was already close to a title shot of his own. After that defeat, Makhachev would go on to win his next 10 fights, which included 6 finishes.
That led him to a title fight win against Charles Oliveira, two title defenses against Alexander Volkanovski, and finally a June defense against Dustin Poirier. Many believe his toughest challenge lays ahead of him this weekend, even though it is a foe he has already defeated.
There’s no hiding what Makhachev is looking to do when he gets in the cage. Wrestling, control, and domination. He has only gotten better and more dangerous. 4 of his first 7 wins in the promotion were by decision, while 7 of his last 8 wins are now by finish.
The improvements in his striking game have allowed him to stay a tad more comfortable when throwing hands, all to eventually set up a level change and the chain wrestling. Dagestanis have gained respect amongst MMA fans for having spectacular wrestling, but what I think is even more impressive is their ability to hold opponents down. Constantly attacking and disrupting the base their opponents are trying to make with their limbs keeps them on their back and wears them out. Makhachev is one of the best at implementing that style.
Renato Moicano
Coming into the UFC as a 9-0-1 prospect back in 2014, many did not expect much from Moicano. However, within 5 years he found himself against the likes of Jose Aldo and The Korean Zombie. He could come up short in those fights and go 3-2 over his following 5 fights. However, at UFC 281 in November 2022, everything changed for Moicano.
After a first round submission victory over Brad Riddell, Moicano gave one of the more inspiring and entertaining post-fight interviews and instantly became a crowd favorite. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury that kept him out of competition in 2023. Since then, he’s returned with 3 more victories and perfectly positioned himself to take this opportunity.
Moicano is a BJJ black belt and it’s obvious how dominant he can be when he gets fights to that realm. His muay thai is not too shabby, often showing nasty kicks, knees, and elbows.
The issue is when he is not in the driver’s seat with the striking, he often gets flustered and makes mistakes that opponent’s take advantage of. In his last three fights he has faced major adversity, but thanks to a little bit of luck and bad decision making on the part of his opponent’s, he’s been able to come out on top. I do not intend on stripping Moicano’s effort in those victories, but they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially with him now taking on the best in the lightweight division.
The Pick
What is transpiring over the last 24 hours is what Cinderella stories are made of. A fan favorite being ushered into a main event spot against the division’s most dominant champion without even having much time to think about it. Unfortunately, not often do we see Cinderella stories completed in the Octagon.
As most say, the MMA Gods do not care about feel-good stories. That should end up being the case once again tonight. Makhachev is far superior in every aspect of MMA than Moicano is, which I believe will lead to the Russian getting a stoppage within 10 minutes. Makhachev is unplayable at -1000, but I lean heavily on a specific prop I think adds good enough value.
