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UFC 311: Five Things We Learned

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UFC 311 delivered some great performances from champions and ranked contenders. Here are the five biggest lessons we learned from the event. (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

UFC 311: Five Things We Learned

The first UFC pay-per-view event of 2025 is in the books. UFC 311 was a solid fight card that saw a multitude of impressive performances across the card. Let’s recap the event by looking at the biggest lessons we learned throughout the event.

Islam Makhachev Shows His Level

The UFC 311 main event showed the level of UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhaachev. The champion defended his title by submitting Renato Moicano with a D’Arce Choke in the first round.

The pre-fight expectation was that Makhachev was going to dominate Moicano. Regardless, Makhachev lived up the expectations and got the job done quickly. It only took one round for him to submit Moicano. That is despite Moicano being a BJJ Black Belt.

This fight was a great demonstration of the level between Makhachev and the lightweight division. In order to compete with the champion, it requires a ridiculous amount of skill and serious well-roundedness.

Merab Dvalishvili Uses His Pace To Defend His Title

The UFC 311 co-main event was a great demonstration of the importance of cardio in MMA. The bout was competitive in the early stages, but Merab Dvalishvili used his ridiculous pace to dominate the late rounds and earn the decision win over Umar Nurmagomedov.

This fight was competitive for about ten minutes. Nurmagomedov looked sharp on the feet and impressed in the grappling exchanges. That skill eventually disappeared as he lost his explosiveness. Dvalishvili overwhelmed Nurmagomedov with striking volume and nonstop takedown attempts. It is simply impossible to defend that level of output over five rounds.

It is going to be a task to try and defeat Dvalishvili in a five-round fight. His machine-like cardio is too much to overcome. An opponent will need to put him out cold to defeat him.

Jiri Prochazka Continues To Defeat Contenders

At UFC 311 Jiri Prochazka landed a third-round knockout against Jamahal Hill. The victories continue Prochazka’s trend of defeating every light heavyweight on the planet outside of Alex Pereira.

Prochazka did an outstanding job of landing impactful strikes when the opportunity presented itself. In the moments that he had Hill hurt, he capitalized with pressure and more damage. Ultimately, Prochazka’s offensive success made it more difficult for Hill to commit to big strikes.

Prochazka’s durability also held up throughout this fight. In the moments Hill was beginning to land strikes, Prochazka did not get hurt or begin to fade.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Prochazka. It is hard to imagine he gets a trilogy bout against Pereira considering he lost the fight two fights. At the same time, if Pereira continues to win, he will run out of light heavyweights to fight relatively soon.

Payton Talbott Has His Grappling Flaws Exposed

Payton Talbott was one of the most hyped prospects in the UFC. At UFC 311, Raoni Barcelos put his grappling flaws on full display.

It is not terrible to be out-grappled by Barcelos. The 37-year-old is past his prime, but he has also been a sensational grappler. The bigger issue is Talbott’s lack of resistance. Barcelos easily landed takedowns and spent a ton of time in dominant positions.

This showing demonstrates the work Talbott needs to do before climbing the bantamweight later. It would be unfair to discount the 26-year-old. At his age, he has the time to put in the required work. Plus, he is an above-average athlete which provides optimism that he can make improvements. That said, he needs to make those strides if he wants to be the elite prospect people believe he can be.

Grant Dawson Passes A Tough Test

On the UFC 311 prelims, Grant Dawson had an impressive performance against Diego Ferreira. Dawson used his grappling to walk away with a decision victory.

Dawson deserves a lot of credit for managing to out-grapple Ferreira. That is a tall order, but he got the job done. This was largely accomplished with strong wrestling and good top control. In the moments the fight got tough, he landed takedowns and established a top position. That allowed him to have the momentum for long periods.

Dawson brings his fair share of concerns and issues to the octagon, but he showed the strengths in his skills in his UFC 311 bout.

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