Russian Islam Makhachev will put his lightweight shot on display this evening when he faces Brazilian Renato Moicano in the grand final of the UFC 311 gala in Inglewood, California.
Makhachev was initially scheduled to face Armenian Arman Tsarukyan, but the latter withdrew yesterday due to a back injury.
The preliminary fights of the event will be presented on TVA Sports 2 from 8 p.m.
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Moicano was expected to face Beneil Dariush on the undercard of the Makhachev-Tsarukyan clash. The 35-year-old veteran is enjoying a good streak of four victories, having dismissed Benoît Saint Denis by doctor’s order last September.
Makhachev, worthy successor to Khabib Nurmagomedov, will try to surpass his mentor by defending his belt for a fourth time.
The list of fights for tonight’s gala:
MAIN CARD
Islam Makhachev (26-1-0) c. Renato Moicano (20-5-1)
Merab Dvalishvili (18-4-0) c. Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0-0)
Jiří Procházka (30-5-1) c. Jamal Hill (12-2-0)
Jailton Almeida (21-3-0) c. Serghei Spivac (17-4-0)
-Kevin Holland (26-12-0) c. Reinier de Ridder (18-2-0)
PRELIMINARY FIGHTS (on TVA Sports 2 from 8 p.m.)
Payton Talbott (9-0-0) c. Raoni Barcelos (18-5-0)
Zachary Reese (8-1-0) c. Azamat Bekoev (18-3-0)
Bogdan Guskov (16-3-0) c. Billy Elekana (7-1-0)
Grant Dawson (22-2-1) c. Diego Ferreira (19-5-0)
PRE-CARD
Karol Rosa (18-6-0) c. Ailin Perez (11-2-0)
Rinya Nakamura (9-0-0) c. Muin Gafurov (19-6-0)
Ricky Turcios (13-4-0) c. Bernardo Sopaj (11-3-0)
Tagir Ulanbekov (15-2-0) c. Clayton Carpenter (8-0-0)