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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
Two champions put the MMA world on notice at UFC 311, as ESPN’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev quickly disposed of Renato Moicano to retain the lightweight title and men’s bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov in an instant classic.
Makhachev beat Moicano by first-round submission in the main event, while Dvalishvili picked up a unanimous decision win over Nurmagomedov in the co-main event. Moicano was a late replacement for Arman Tsarukyan, who was originally slated to face Makhachev in the main event but was forced to withdraw due to injury.
Also on the card, Jiří Procházka won a battle of former light heavyweight champions, beating Jamahal Hill by third-round knockout.
Following the first UFC pay-per-view event of the year, how should the future matchmaking play out? Here’s what should be next for the top fighters from UFC 311.
Islam Makhachev, lightweight
Who should be next: Charles Oliveira
One of the most unfortunate parts about Arman Tsarukyan’s withdrawal from UFC 311 is that it holds up the division at a time when the division needs to get moving. Oliveira had earned a title opportunity, but lost it because of a cut he suffered in 2023. He deserves to get his shot. Justin Gaethje had a guaranteed title shot last year and risked it to do the company a solid — defending the BMF belt at UFC 300. If he beats Dan Hooker at UFC 313 in March, he deserves to get his shot as well. And even though Tsarukyan’s stock is pretty low after his withdrawal, eventually the sport will give him a much deserved a title shot as well. Makhachev can be only so active. For now, I think Oliveira comes first, and I expect it to happen in June.
Wild card: Arman Tsarukyan
UFC CEO Dana White has already said Tsarukyan will have to earn his way back to a title fight. But if the UFC doesn’t go with Oliveira as the next title challenger, it’s hard to make a case for anyone but Tsarukyan to get it.
Arman Tsarukyan, lightweight
Who should be next: Aaron Pico
If the UFC signs Pico, this is a complete no-brainer. Pico, 28, is a longtime Bellator featherweight who worked into a title shot opportunity at the end of that promotion’s existence. He is said to be a free agent, and the UFC has a deep interest in signing him. If he wants to compete at featherweight in the UFC, that will certainly be an option — but why not take a shot at lightweight out of the gate? This is an obvious fight to make. It keeps Tsarukyan busy with an opponent he has never fought before, and for Pico, if he wins, it instantly legitimizes him as a new 155-pound title challenger. There are plenty of great fights for him at featherweight, too, but none offer such immediate upside.
Wildcard: Islam Makhachev
I don’t expect this to happen, given White said it won’t during the postfight news conference Saturday. But this sport operates in strange ways sometimes, and you can’t shut the door completely on Tsarukyan fighting for a title, because he was just 24 hours away from doing so.
Merab Dvalishvili, men’s bantamweight
Who should be next: Sean O’Malley
This is more about not wanting to do the rematch against Umar Nurmagomedov right away than it is about rushing O’Malley back into a title shot. I’d be fine seeing O’Malley take another fight; in fact, I’m on record saying the biggest fight for O’Malley would be José Aldo, and I’d love to see that happen. For Dvalishvili though, it’s either a rematch with O’Malley or Nurmagomedov, and I don’t think the UFC should run Nurmagomedov back right away. Dvalishvili already expressed his opinion that Nurmagomedov wasn’t deserving of a title shot. Are they really going to force him to beat him twice in a row? I honestly think those two will eventually fight more than twice, but I vote to do the O’Malley rematch first.
Wildcard: Umar Nurmagomedov
This fight was so close. And although Nurmagomedov breaking his hand in the first round takes nothing away from Dvalishvili, it did happen. If the UFC wanted to run it back, I would certainly watch. There’s no chance a rematch between these two doesn’t happen at some point, so why rush it immediately?
Umar Nurmagomedov, men’s bantamweight
Who should be next: Deiveson Figueiredo
At one point, Dvalishvili said Figueiredo was a far more deserving title challenger than Nurmagomedov. Well, here is a perfect chance for the champ to get what he wants, seeing two top-10-ranked contenders compete for a No. 1 contender spot. Petr Yan is right up there for a title shot as well. The top of this division is as deep as any in the sport. Keep them all active, because the champ will be active. There are a lot of great fights, rematches and even potential trilogies to take place between the top bantamweights, if the UFC just keeps them active.
Wildcard: Merab Dvalishvili
We’ll have to see what the timing looks like and how the division changes in the coming months while Nurmagomedov observes Ramadan and lets his hand heal up. It could shake out that he gets right back into a title fight when he returns to the Octagon.
Jiří Procházka, light heavyweight
Who should be next: A front row seat at UFC 313
There’s no obvious fight for Procházka, especially considering Alex Pereira defends his championship in less than two months. I don’t expect the promotion will book him anything until we see what happens between Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev. If Ankalaev wins, Procházka might get the next title shot, depending on how that fight looks. If Pereira wins, Procházka is likely looking at having to win one more fight. Although if Pereira makes a move up to heavyweight, the UFC might book an interim title fight, which Procházka would certainly be a part of. The bottom line is questions need to be answered before we know Procházka’s next move, and some of them will be answered at UFC 313 on March 8.
Wildcard: Winner of Jan Blachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg (March 22, UFC Fight Night)
This is probably the most likely outcome, once all of the light heavyweight dust settles. It’s hard to say for sure, because of all of the potential wild cards at play, but Procházka has not fought Blachowicz or Ulberg.
Jamahal Hill, light heavyweight
Who should be next: Khalil Rountree Jr.
This is a pretty obvious one to make here. The only question is timing. Rountree hasn’t fought since taking a lot of damage in his title loss to Pereira in October. Hill just took quite a bit of damage Saturday. Stylistically and rankings-wise, this is clearly the matchup to make, but Rountree might be ready to go earlier than Hill is available. The division needs clarity at the top, but the UFC (and the fighters themselves) are under no pressure to book right now. Pereira is so active, no one has to worry about sitting out an extended amount of time for a potential title shot. My guess is that neither Hill nor Rountree will get booked before the UFC gets to see the other light heavyweight matchups in March. And by then, they might be on a perfect time frame to run into each other.
Wildcard: Aleksandar Rakic
Just going right down the rankings here. This is a pretty self-explanatory matchup. These two have never fought, and they’re in that top echelon of 205-pound fighters, even if they are each on a bit of a skid. I expect the UFC to explore the Rountree matchup first. That fight was booked in June but fell apart due to injury.
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