5 biggest winners from UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano

The first UFC pay-per-view of 2025 went down this weekend in Inglewood. Despite a late change to the headliner, the show was an excellent one.

A number of fighters came away with victories at UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano, but who were the biggest winners?

Thanks to wins from champions, underdogs and fighters desperate to make their mark, there are a number of potential stars to name here.

With that in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano.

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#5. Islam Makhachev - defeated Renato Moicano to defend the UFC lightweight title

It seems odd to put Islam Makhachev at the bottom of this list, but the fact is that the weekend didn't quite go as he would've wanted it to.

Sure, he won in UFC 311's headliner in largely comfortable fashion, retaining his lightweight title, but rather than defeat top contender Arman Tsarukyan, he instead dispatched late replacement Renato Moicano.

Was this Makhachev's fault? Of course not. Tsarukyan unfortunately picked up an injury and was forced out at the last second, and a fighter can only defeat who is put in front of them.

However, those observers who still question the Dagestani's position at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings were probably given more fuel this weekend. After all, in four title defenses, the only top-ranked 155-pounder Makhachev has beaten is Dustin Poirier.

With all that said, Makhachev is now a UFC record holder, as no lightweight champion had made more than three successful title defenses before - not even Khabib Nurmagomedov.

That alone makes the Dagestani one of the weekend's biggest winners, but had he beaten Tsarukyan and not Moicano, he would've topped this list without a doubt.

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#4. Raoni Barcelos - defeated Payton Talbott in a UFC bantamweight fight

The biggest betting underdog coming into UFC 311 was bantamweight veteran Raoni Barcelos.

Practically, nobody was giving him a chance of beating hot prospect Payton Talbott, who came into the event with tons of hype following two flashy knockouts last year.

Barcelos, meanwhile, had lost two of his last three bouts, and had tended to fall to his better foes, names like Sean O'Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov.

When it came to fight time, though, the veteran turned it on. Not only did he defeat Talbott, but he made it look remarkably easy, too.

The prospect had no answer for Barcelos' takedowns, and each round was dominated by the Brazilian, particularly the third. Sure, he didn't finish the fight, but there was only ever one winner once the final buzzer sounded.

It's probably true that this fight told us more about Talbott than Barcelos. It's back to the drawing board for the prospect, who clearly has a gaping hole in his game he'll need to fix if he wants to make it to the top.

However, this was still a banner win for a 37-year-old fighter who may well have lost his spot on the roster with a defeat here. There's no doubt, then, that Barcelos was one of the event's biggest winners.

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#3. Reinier de Ridder - defeated Kevin Holland in a UFC middleweight bout

It's rare that a debuting fighter who wins their first UFC bout gets criticized, but that was the case when Reinier de Ridder defeated Gerald Meerschaert last year.

De Ridder won, but the bout was derided as sloppy by a number of observers. Few fans gave him a chance against exciting stalwart Kevin Holland this weekend, then.

However, at UFC 311, de Ridder was anything but sloppy. Not only did he beat Holland, but he made it look surprisingly easy, too.

'The Dutch Knight' grounded 'The Trailblazer' early, outgrappled him, cut him open and finally finished him off with a rear naked choke.

Whether this win means de Ridder is ready to make a dent in the top fifteen at 185 pounds is still debatable. Other opponents may put up a tougher fight than Holland, who did look a little jaded here.

However, in comparison to his debut win, 'The Dutch Knight' looked brilliant at the weekend, and should now have a chance to head into contention. He's a big winner for sure.

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#2. Jiri Prochazka - defeated Jamahal Hill in a UFC light-heavyweight fight

The most exciting fight at UFC 311 saw Jiri Prochazka outduel Jamahal Hill in a battle of former light-heavyweight champions.

There were a number of questions around 'BJP' coming into the fight, particularly after his spectacular loss to Alex Pereira in their rematch last year.

For the most part, though, Prochazka answered them entirely. The Czech wildman took the fight to Hill from the off, dropping 'Sweet Dreams' in the first round before dispatching him in a flurry of violence in the third.

Was it a flawless victory for 'BJP'? Arguably not. Hill did land plenty of his own shots throughout the fight, and most notably hurt Prochazka by going to the body in the second round.

In the end, though, the Czech fighter was just too aggressive, too tough and too downright crazy to stop, and Hill was unable to do a lot about it.

Will the win vault Prochazka directly back into title contention? Arguably not while 'Poatan' holds the title, as the Brazilian holds two wins over 'BJP'.

If Magomed Ankalaev can dethrone the kickboxer in March, though, there'd be a very real argument for Prochazka to be his first challenger. Essentially, 'BJP' has put himself into the best position he could be in right now, making him a huge winner.

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#1. Merab Dvalishvili - defeated Umar Nurmagomedov to defend the UFC bantamweight title

The biggest winner at UFC 311 was undoubtedly Merab Dvalishvili. Not only did he successfully defend his bantamweight title against an unbeaten challenger, he proved without a doubt that he's the best 135-pound fighter on the planet right now.

'The Machine' did not have it all his way against Umar Nurmagomedov. In fact, he quite clearly lost the first two rounds of their five-round bout.

'Young Eagle' was the sharper striker, and he lit up Dvalishvili on multiple occasions, bloodying him up too.

However, he couldn't break the Georgian, who never stopped coming forward for a second. In the end, Dvalishvili's sheer pace took over. He began to bully Nurmagomedov, backing him up, taunting him and eventually taking him down too.

By the end of the fight, it was painfully clear who the better man was, and it came as no surprise to see Dvalishvili given the victory.

'The Machine' has no contemporary in the bantamweight division right now. He's beaten Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Sean O'Malley and now Nurmagomedov.

Perhaps the only comparison to him in UFC history in terms of his suffocating style would be Cain Velasquez. Thankfully, Dvalishvili doesn't seem to have the same injury issues as the former heavyweight champ.

Based on this evidence, Dvalishvili will hold this title for as long as he wants to. He was absolutely this weekend's biggest winner.