Winning and losing a part and parcel of any sports event. However, when it comes to combat sports, it can make or break you. The ramifications can be as severe as a steep fall in the rankings or propelling them to overnight success. From last-moment changes in opponents to blockbuster winning moments, UFC 311 had it all. Intuit Dome in Los Angeles saw a massive showdown and even some unexpected winners and losers.

So let’s recap the powerful showdown and see who were the ‘real’ winners and the ones who could not win this time.

Renato Moicano

Renato ‘Money’ Moicano was brave enough to step up last moment to fight someone like Islam Makhachev. The UFC lightweight champion has dispatched everyone in his path and stepping up to stand against him in the Octagon is a brave feat. The 20-6-1 fighter decided to grab the opportunity since Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of the card due to an injury. Even though Moicano earned $250,000 with no bonus, he lost to Makhachev, which was expected since the latter was in amazing condition.

Moicano was originally set to face Beneil Dariush on the card but ultimately fought Makhachev. The 155-pound champion made quick work of the Brazilian juggernaut, forcing him to tap early in round one thanks to an air-constricting darce choke. Yes, Moicano lost, but maybe he gained many people’s admiration through this brave decision, along with a fat paycheck.

Merab Dvalishivli

‘The Machine’ has had quite a beef with Umar Nurmagomedov before their showdown at UFC 311. The Georgian even accused ‘Young Eagle’ of getting a chance at the title too early and he wanted the Dagestani to fight some more opponents before getting a chance at the belt. On the other hand, even Umar took jibes saying Dvalishvili was ‘scared’. With different jibes and even a supposed ‘betrayal’ by Merab Dvalishvili’’s friend who trained with Umar, the situation was tense.

However, the tables turned on the day of the event. Not only did the UFC bantamweight champion shock the fans and UFC veterans by defending his bantamweight belt, but also got paid well.

He earned $500,000 (no win bonus) which is quite a win considering he also had his belt intact. So truly he is one of the ‘real’ winners of UFC 311.

Jiri Prochazka

‘The Czech Samurai’ showed that he was a cold assassin in this fight against Jamahal Hill. He put on a brilliant performance to get back into the title contention discussion at UFC 311. A barrage of punches and Hill was KOed by Prochazka.

The 31-5-1 fighter not only won this time but gained $250,000 (includes a $50,000 win bonus); Hill $200,000. So not only did he give an entertaining fight, but also had a heavy pocket after winning.

Jailton Almeida

Almeida knows what he wants and he also is brave enough to ask for it. Even though he did not get the answer he wanted he still managed to win at UFC 311 and decided to call out former interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane one more time.

He is one of the ‘real’ winners because not only did he prove himself by winning against Serghei Spivac but now his challenge against Gane will be taken seriously. “This is a guy that I’ve called out a couple of times,” Almeida said at the UFC 311 post-fight news conference. “He’s been a guy who’s always been at the top of the rankings, been out there with the interim title. I’ve called him out like three times. So, I guess it’s time to fight. I don’t know what I have to do. I’m going to have to ask the UFC if I have to buy a ticket to go after him.”

Along with this, he also received $102,000, which also makes him stand on the winning side. This even included a $51,000 win bonus.

Islam Makhachev

Now let’s talk about the decisive winner. Islam Makhachev is already the king of the lightweight category. He is already the winner in so many ways and the Dagestani again proved that he is from Team Khabib by defeating Renato Moicano, who had stepped in last minute because of Arman Tsarukyan’s injury.

“I like this belt,“ Makhachev said. “If somebody wants this belt, come to the cage.” Khabib Nurmagomedov was already in his corner supporting him which made his side stronger. Makhachev trapped Moicano in a choke, forcing the challenger to tap almost immediately.

He was also a ‘real’ winner since he kept his belt, fought a different opponent than the planned one, and received a price of $200,000 as a flat fee for his fourth consecutive title defense. Now let’s get to the fighters who lost not only in the cage but also when it comes to chance inside the cage.

Arman Tsarukyan 

The Armenian star unfortunately became a loser, but not by his own choice! He was all up and ready to fight Makhachev but an injury stopped him from stepping into the cage. UFC CEO Dana White revealed the news just prior to the scheduled fight.

“He’s going back to the drawing board,” White revealed to reporters. “I don’t want anybody to fight hurt, ever. We’ve been in these positions before. We’re down there with the doctor, with Heather from (the UFC Performance Institute). You can ask any fighter – she’s the best in the world. You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. We’ll see how this plays out for him next year.”

Arman Tsarukyan is still the #1 contender in the UFC official lightweight ranks but he needs to fight his way back to the title shot conversation again.

Jamahal Hill

‘Sweet Dreams’ thought he would redeem himself after getting KO-ed by Alex Pereira at UFC 303. However, Jiri Prochazka got back in the win column in tremendous style at UFC 311.

Even though ‘Poatan’ slept Jamahal Hill as well in the latter’s last fight, ‘The Czech Samurai’ managed to climb up the winning ranks again at UFC 311. There was sizzling tension between Prochazka and Hill and Mike Beltran had to step in and stop them from starting the bout early.

Jamahal Hill did manage to deliver a liver shot that appeared to hurt his opponent. However, Prochazka shut down this powerful pressure at the start of round 3. Unfortunately for Hill, he couldn’t bounce back when he was hurt again. Prochazka took him to the mat and landed ground strikes until the referee stepped in to call the fight.

Kevin Holland

Holland had declared that he was not impressed with Reinier de Ridder. But the latter might have changed his opinion at UFC 311. De Ridder, the former two-division ONE Championship title holder, proved himself and scored an impressive submission win at the 3:31 mark of the first round.

“The goal was always to choke the guy out,” De Ridder said during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. Holland had declared that he would fight 6 times in 2025 but unfortunately, he has lost 4 of his past 5 fights back-to-back.

Payton Talbott

Payton Talbott, unfortunately, suffered a top 5 biggest upset loss in UFC history when he was dominated by Raoni Barcelos. This was also a unanimous decision to close the preliminary card at UFC 311 at Intuit Dome.

Talbott was unbeaten when he came into the bantamweight bout and was expecting to win again. However, Barcelos was motivated to fight his opponent since Talbott was a formidable opponent.

“Throughout this whole camp, it was hard seeing a lot of people not believing in me. A lot of people were saying a lot of things online,” Barcelos said. “But I knew I could do this. He’s got great standup, coming off a bunch of knockouts, so there’s no reason for me to stand up with him. I have good wrestling. I needed to go in there and take him down and control him, and that’s exactly what I did.”

So ultimately, the underdog won and Talbott had to accept the loss. What do you think about this list of winners and losers in UFC 311?