INGLEWOOD — The City of Champions has had it flair for the dramatic when it comes to the UFC.
Whether it was shocking title-fight upsets or hosting a fight card on six days’ notice, Inglewood has become accustomed to expecting the unexpected when the MMA promotion comes to town.
The big surprise Friday was that lightweight champion Islam Makhachev had a new opponent in 10th-ranked Renato Moicano.
One day later, reality hit and the 155-pound king showed there are levels to the game, taking down the challenger and sinking in a D’Arce choke to force the first-round tapout in the UFC 311 main event Saturday at Intuit Dome.
With the win, Makhachev (27-1) surpassed longtime friend and current coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former UFC lightweight legend, with his fifth successful title defense.
The Dagestani great has now won 15 consecutive fights, tying him with former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and trailing only middleweight GOAT Anderson Silva (16).
As for what’s next, as some have speculated that Makhachev would move up to welterweight at 170 pounds, Makhachev seemed to indicate he wasn’t going anywhere.
“I like this belt. It’s not my choice,” the champ said for who his next opponent might be. “If somebody wants this belt, come to the cage.”
Less than two hours after weighing in for his fight against Placentia’s Beneil Dariush on Friday, Moicano (20-6-1) was elevated to the featured bout after title challenger Arman Tsarukyan was forced to bow out with a back injury in the wee hours Friday.
With his fight with Dariush scrapped, the brash Brazilian was provided two very real scenarios: the golden opportunity to fight for a UFC championship and the daunting task of stepping into the Octagon against one of the sport’s greatest fighters.
What remained to be seen was whether Moicano would mirror the performance put forth by Michael Bisping, who accepted the UFC 199 main-event fight on two weeks’ notice and shocked the world by knocking out middleweight champion Luke Rockhold at The Forum.
Or maybe Makhachev would handle business like then-light heavyweight champion Jon Jones when UFC 232 was moved from Las Vegas to The Forum on six days’ notice due to issues with a Jones drug test. Jones responded to the controversy with a dominant TKO victory of Alexander Gustafsson
But for “Money” Moicano, who was riding a four-fight winning streak, he encountered a steep exchange rate going from main card to main event.
“It wasn’t one day’s notice, it was a life’s notice,” Moicano said. “I’m very sad. I spent my whole life for this moment and lose it in the first round.”
The odds of Makhachev winning climbed as high as -1200 before the bout, with Moicano as a +750 underdog. And while Moicano had early success touching Makhachev, once the champ took him down, it seemed to be a matter of time.
After some time with Makhachev on top after a takedown, the two scrambled and Makhachev enveloped his arms around Moicano’s neck, collapsed and squeezed. The tap came soon after.