Islam Makhachev has released a statement following UFC 311’s main event shakeup.
The Russian is set to return to the octagon in tomorrow night’s main event in Las Vegas. Back for the first time since scoring a submission win over Dustin Poirier last June, Islam Makhachev was set to meet Arman Tsarukyan. The UFC lightweight champion famously defeated the Armenian by unanimous decision in St. Petersburg back in 2019.
However, that fight will no longer be happening. Earlier today, Tsarukyan withdrew from the UFC 311 main event due to an injury he suffered last night. As a result, undercard fighter Renato Moicano will be moved from a lightweight bout against Beneil Dariush, into the main event. While many champions would turn down the short-notice fight, Islam Makhachev didn’t.
That’s something that the UFC lightweight champion takes pride in. After Dana White made the new headliner official, Islam Makhachev took to social media. There, he released posts on X and Instagram. On the former, Makhachev quoted his statement from October 2023, when he accepted a short-notice title rematch with Alexander Volkanovski.
"What does this title represent? It means you're the best in the world and if you're the best in the world, it doesn't matter who's going to be standing across from you. What do I say? No? NEVER. Let's do this!" pic.twitter.com/Nyj05z1mGs
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) January 17, 2025
Islam Makhachev sends a message to Dana White after accepting the fight against Moicano on short notice:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 17, 2025
"Dana White now you understand what is the meaning P4P." 👀🔥
(via. IG / @MAKHACHEVMMA) #UFC #MMA #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/KLPy7IqvjS
Islam Makhachev releases statement following UFC 311 shake-up
On Instagram Stories, Islam Makhachev sent a message to Dana White. While the UFC CEO has long stated that heavyweight champion Jon Jones is the true pound-for-pound number one, the Russian disagrees. Given today’s turn of events, it’s possible that White will finally change his mind.
However, Islam Makhachev must now turn his attention to the man known as ‘Money Moicano’. While the Brazilian wasn’t expected to be in this position, he heads into the UFC 311 main event riding a wave of momentum. Moicano was last seen in the octagon last September, scoring a stoppage win over Benoit Saint-Denis.
That victory was the fifth in a row for the longtime UFC lightweight contender. Now, Moicano has the opportunity to shock the world against Islam Makhachev on Saturday night.