UFC 311 LIVE: Islam Makhachev vs Renato Moicano tops the card – latest updates and results

Both throw heavy strikes early on as Bekoev connects with a body kick, before Reese lands with a nice knee to the body. Bekoev immediately goes for the single and connects with an elbow, but is suddenly caught in a potentially dangerous position as Reese goes for the armbar. Reese is unable to lock in the submission and Bekoev escapes.

Both fighters stay on the mat, Reese on his back and Bekoev on top, with each man trading slicing elbows. Bekoev then rains in with the ground on pound, landing warhead after warhead – and just like that, Reese is out!

Azamat Bekoev def. Zachary Reese via first round TKO (ground strikes, 3:04)

Hello there! You join me in the build up towards an absolutely stacked UFC 311 main card this evening.

Two titles on the line as well as a number of potentially division-shaping matchups to sink our teeth into. We’ve got a treat of a fightcard in store.

Things are only just hotting up here and after four decisions so far, we move into our next prelim of the evening: a middleweight bout between Zachary Reese and short-notice UFC newcomer Azamat Bekoev.

Here’s a rundown of the prelim results so far tonight:

Grant Dawson def. Diego Ferreira via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Ailin Perez def. Karol Rosa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Muin Gafurov def. Rinya Nakamura via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Bernardo Sopai def. Ricky Turcios via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Tagir Ulanbekov def. Clayton Carpenter via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,, 29-28)

Now, over to Will Castle, who will provide you with blow-by-blow updates as the prelims continue.

Then, at 3am GMT, it’s the main card… Stick around!

Why is Islam Makhachev our pound-for-pound No 1 fighter? And where does Merab Dvalishvili feature on our list?

As for tonight’s co-main event participants:

Merab Dvalishvili was dominant against Sean O’Malley in taking the bantamweight title in September. Dvalishvili won comfortably on the scorecards, having out-grappled “Suga Sean” throughout the fight at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

One month earlier, Umar Nurmagomedov impressed greatly as he won a decision against Cory Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi. Nurmagomedov’s well-rounded game was on display, as he showed he’s not the single-track fighter that his cousin Khabib was.

In his last fight, in June, Islam Makhachev won a gruelling affair with Dustin Poirier – eventually submitting the former interim champion in round five. In truth, Makhachev was one step ahead throughout the bout, but Poirier rallied impressively before succumbing to a D’Arce choke.

Three months later, at UFC Paris, Renato Moicano dominated hometown hero Benoit Saint-Denis, ultimately stopping the Frenchman in round two. The Brazilian’s TKO victory took him to four straight wins, with finishes in three of them.

A woman who accused Conor McGregor of sexual assault, but was unsuccessful in getting criminal charges filed, is now suing the former UFC champion and employees of the basketball arena where she says the attack took place.

The woman alleges that McGregor assaulted her in a bathroom of the Kaseya Center, home arena of the Miami Heat, on 9 June 2023 – when the Heat played the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of the NBA finals.

Her attorney James Dunn filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the US District Court, Southern District of Florida.