UFC 311 Adds Another Huge Fight, Top Lightweights Set to Clash In Los Angeles

The UFC's first PPV event of 2025 is shaping up to be a massive card.

Drew Beaupre | Dec 6, 2024

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Lightweight gold will be on the line in the main event of UFC 311, and now the event has added another pivotal bout between two of the division’s top contenders.

Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano Booked For UFC 311

The UFC is set to host its last PPV event of the year this Saturday when UFC 310 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas before UFC Tampa closes out the promotion's 2024 calendar next week, but some fans are already looking forward to what is shaping up to be a stacked UFC 311 card on January 18.

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Taking place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California, UFC 311 will be headlined by a lightweight title bout between Islam Makhachev and #1-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch of their 2019 meeting, and in the night’s co-main event Merab Dvalishvili will defend his bantamweight belt against Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC 311 Adds Another Huge Fight, Top Lightweights Set to Clash In Los Angeles

Jun 1, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Islam Makhachev (red gloves) celebrates defeating Dustin Poirier (blue gloves) during UFC 302 at Prudential Center. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The card also boasts important heavyweight and light heavyweight matchups with Jailton Almeida taking on Serghei Spivac and Jiří Procházka finally set to settle things with Jahamal Hill in a battle between former champions, and now the UFC has announced that UFC 311 will also feature a massive lightweight contest between Renato Moicano and Beneil Dariush.

#UFC311 just keeps getting BETTER 😮‍💨

Jan 18 can't come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jbiVNLdpRu
— UFC (@ufc) December 5, 2024

Currently the UFC’s #10-ranked lightweight contender, Moicano is riding the momentum of a four-fight win streak and most recently stopped Benoit Saint-Denis in the main event of UFC Paris after entering the event as a sizeable underdog.

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Renato Moicano (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Jalin Turner (red gloves) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

“Money” will have a chance to climb further up the lightweight rankings at UFC 311 when he meets the #9-ranked Dariush, who put together an incredible eight-fight win streak between 2018 and 2022 before being stopped in back-to-back fights last year against Tsarukyan and former lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira.

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Dec 2, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Beneil Dariush (red gloves) fights Arman Tsarukyan (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Moody Center. / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The lightweight contest is another huge addition to the UFC’s first PPV event of 2025, and provided that nothing falls through during the next month and a half the 14-fight card for UFC 311 currently looks like this:

• Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan – For the UFC Lightweight Championship

• Co-Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov – For the UFC Bantamweight Championship

• Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac

• Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill

• Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano

• Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder

• Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov

• Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov

• Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez

• Zach Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas

• Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos

• Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj

• Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira

• Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter

Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano Booked For UFC 311

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