UFC 311 Took Place Amid Los Angeles Wildfires
Wildfires across Los Angeles County raised questions about whether the Jan. 18, 2025 event at Intuit Dome would proceed. It did: the card took place as scheduled in Inglewood. The wildfire did not force a cancellation or venue change.
The main event changed for a different reason. On Jan. 17, Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from his scheduled lightweight title fight with Islam Makhachev because of back issues. Renato Moicano replaced him on short notice. The promotion announced the replacement.
The original video above previews the Makhachev–Tsarukyan matchup that was booked before the withdrawal. At the event, Makhachev submitted Moicano by D’Arce choke at 4:05 of Round 1, and Merab Dvalishvili retained the bantamweight title with a unanimous decision over Umar Nurmagomedov. See the official results and highlights.
The Revised Main Event and Completed Card
Moicano had initially been booked to face Beneil Dariush on the same card. Moving him into the championship bout therefore changed two matchups, with Dariush no longer competing at UFC 311. The adjustment preserved a lightweight title fight at the top of the event while giving Moicano a very different assignment from the one he had prepared to undertake.
Makhachev’s victory became his fourth successful lightweight title defense. UFC’s post-event analysis identified that achievement as a divisional record, moving him beyond the three-defense mark shared by BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson. The championship result gave the completed event a lasting sporting significance beyond the questions surrounding its location during fight week.
Other main-card results included Jiří Procházka stopping Jamahal Hill in the third round, Jailton Almeida finishing Serghei Spivac in the first, and Reinier de Ridder submitting Kevin Holland with a first-round rear-naked choke. Those bouts, alongside the two championship contests, formed the main card that ultimately went ahead at Intuit Dome.
Additional context: UFC’s post-event analysis.
