Moicano Steps Up to Challenge Makhachev
Renato Moicano was originally scheduled to face Beneil Dariush on the Jan. 18, 2025 card. After Arman Tsarukyan withdrew the day before, Moicano replaced him in the lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev. Makhachev submitted Moicano in the first round.
The pre-event matchup with Dariush changed after Tsarukyan pulled out for medical reasons on Jan. 17. Moicano accepted the short-notice title opportunity, and Dariush was removed from the card. The official card update announced the replacement and change to the lineup.
Moicano then faced champion Makhachev in the main event on Jan. 18 in Inglewood, California. Makhachev won by D’Arce choke at 4:05 of Round 1 to retain the lightweight title. The official event results record the finish.
The winning run behind the opportunity
Moicano entered UFC 311 after three victories in 2024. He began with a unanimous decision over Drew Dober in February, stopped Jalin Turner in the second round at UFC 300 in April and finished Benoît Saint Denis in Paris that September. Those performances explain why his original meeting with Dariush drew attention as a significant lightweight matchup.
The broader streak stood at four consecutive wins when he accepted the Makhachev fight, with three of those victories coming inside the distance. The UFC’s pre-event profile describes the momentum he brought to the card before the late lineup change. His preparations had been directed toward a contender bout, then abruptly became a championship assignment.
That change is essential to understanding the embedded buildup. Discussion of Dariush reflects the original booking, while the final result belongs to Moicano’s short-notice challenge against Makhachev. The submission defeat ended the winning run but does not erase the sequence of 2024 performances that put him in position to accept the opportunity.
