Merab Dvalishvili earns highest reported fighter payout

Tonight’s UFC 311 fight card was the first pay-per-view event of the year for the MMA promotion. Despite losing its originally scheduled main event on weigh-in day, UFC 311 delivered its fair share of excitement and entertaining fights. The card’s most anticipated fights saw UFC champions Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili retain their titles in the main event and co-main event. Below, we take a look at the fighters’ disclosed pay for the UFC 311 fight card.

Somewhat surprisingly, main event challenger Renato Moicano got a higher payout than reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

The UFC 311 main card aired on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+. UFC 311 took place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

Click here for our full analysis of the UFC 311 fight card.

Fighter pay disclosed by UFC 311:

Islam Makhachev: $200,000 (no win bonus)

Renato Moicano: $250,000 (no winning bonus)

Merab Dvalishvili: $500,000 (no winning bonus)

Umar Nurmagomedov: $100,000 (no winning bonus)

Jiri Prochazka: $250,000 ($200,000 plus $50,000 win bonus)

Jamahal Hill: $200,000

Kevin Holland: $250,000

Reinier de Ridder: $210,000 ($105,000 plus $105,000 win bonus)

Jailton Almeida: $220,000 ($110,000 plus $110,000 win bonus)

Sergei Spivac: $100,000

Payton Talbott: $43,000

Raoni Barcelos: $96,000 ($48,000 plus $48,000 win bonus)

Bogdan Guskov: $86,000 ($43,000 plus $43,000 win bonus)

Billy Elekana: $12,000

Grant Dawson: $212,000 ($106,000 plus $106,000 win bonus)

Diego Ferreira: $100,000

Zachary Reese: $30,000

Azamat Bekoev: $24,000 ($12,000 plus $12,000 win bonus)

Karol Rosa: $75,000

Ailin Perez: $72,000 ($36,000 plus $36,000 win bonus)

Rinya Nakamura: $26,000

Muin Gafurov: $28,000 ($14,000 plus $14,000 win bonus)

Ricky Turcios: $28,000

Bernardo Sopai: $24,000 ($12,000 plus $12,000 win bonus)

Tagir Ulanbekov: $72,000 ($36,000 plus $36,000 win bonus)

Carpenter Clayton: $28,000

*Via California State Athletic Commission MMA Fighting

UFC 311 fight card results

UFC 311 pay-per-view results

Islam Makhachev defeats Renato Moicano by submission at 4:05 of the first round (D’Arce choke)

Merab Dvalishvili defeats Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

Jiří Procházka defeats Jamahal Hill via TKO at 3:01 of Round 3 (Head punches on the ground)

Jailton Almeida defeats Serghei Spivac via TKO at 4:53 of round 1 (head punches from rear control)

Reinier de Ridder defeats Kevin Holland by submission at 3:31 of round 1 (rear naked choke)

Preliminary results from the UFC 311 fight card

Raoni Barcelos defeats Payton Talbott by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)

Azamat Bekoev defeats Zach Reese by KO at 3:04 of the first round (head strike on the ground)

Bogdan Guskov defeats Billy Elekana by submission at 3:33 of round two (guillotine choke)

Grant Dawson defeats Diego Ferreira by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

UFC 311 fight card early prelims results

Ailín Pérez defeats Karol Rosa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

Muin Gafurov defeats Rinya Nakamura by unanimous decision (30-27 x 3)

Benardo Sopaj defeats Ricky Turcios by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

Tagir Ulanbekov defeats Clayton Carpenter by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)

UFC 311 results: Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano

In the main event, Islam Makhachev made short work of his last replacement foe, Renato Moicano.

Makhachev had no reason to agree to a late replacement other than the desire to fight and earn a salary. The fight posed a huge risk for the reigning champion, as he was riding a 14-fight winning streak and was tied with BJ Penn, Benson Henderson and his trainer, Khabib Nurmagomedov, for the most title fight wins in UFC history with four. Simply put, Makhachev had a lot to lose against a fighter he hadn’t trained for and who was essentially on a freeroll in the lightweight title fight.

Makhachev took the fight and easily knocked down Moicano, the No. 10 ranked fighter in the official UFC lightweight rankings.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the UFC turned around and pitted him against Arman Tsarukyan, the man he was scheduled to face at UFC 311 before a back injury knocked him out of contention.

UFC 311 results: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

The co-main event of the evening delivered one of the best bantamweight fights in UFC history. In this match, the champion, Merab Dvalishvili, entered the fight as a notable underdog against the challenger, Umar Nurmagomedov.

In one of the most grueling fights inside the Octagon, Dvalishvili set a pace on Nurmagomedov that his opponent was unable to maintain. Dvalishvili’s cardio is different. Dealing with him must be like running an uphill marathon with a 50-pound backpack full of ever-changing liquid with duct tape over your mouth and one nostril. He keeps fighters off balance in every way and never gives his opponents a chance to rest or reset. Nurmagomedov did well in the first three rounds, but he couldn’t maintain that pace over the course of a five-round fight, costing him his unbeaten record.

However, with the high quality of the UFC 311 co-main event, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the UFC decide to go back, as Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov are head and shoulders above the rest of the UFC bantamweight division.

California is one of the few remaining athletic commissions to disclose UFC fighter compensation.