The weights in the cage of UFC 311 fighters literally and figuratively blur the lines between weight classes.
MMA and UFC fighters have been known to lose weight to meet their contractual limit. Some weight savings are more dramatic than others, like Arman Tsarukyan losing weight during his wedding. Other fighters, such as heavyweights, often don't have to prepare for the scales.
However, the California State Athletic Commission has released the cage weights of UFC 311 fighters, and some of the results will shock you, including Islam Makhachev, who defended his lightweight title against Renato Moicano in the main event.
Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG
Islam Makhachev gained 23.5 pounds during the fight night weigh-in for UFC 311
Sportsnet's Aaron Bronsteter was kind enough to share the Commission's data on X. Islam Makhachev packed an impressive 23.5 pounds and weighed in at 178 pounds for his lightweight title fight with Moicano.
The California State Athletic Commission has released the fight night weights for UFC 311.
Some notable points:
Talbott 135.5 -> 158.2 / Barcelos 135.5 -> 158.2nd Knight 184.5 -> 212.0 Merab 134.0 -> 156.8 / Umar 135.0 -> 156.8 Islam 154, 5 -> 178.0 / Moicano 155.0 -> 181.8 pic.twitter.com/IOVMOKyHEX
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 21, 2025
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This would fuel the narrative that Makhachev is a bully if there wasn't one key factor. Moicano was still bigger than Makhachev on fight night, gaining 26.8 pounds and weighing 181.8 pounds. That's almost the UFC's middleweight limit, and it's not the biggest difference on the card either.
One UFC 311 middleweight weighed as much as a heavyweight on fight night
Heavyweight Jailton Almeida in particular lost weight through fighting. Jamahal Hill was comfortably bigger than Jiri Prochazka, and Reiner de Ridder packed a whopping 27.5 pounds and made 212 pounds in his middleweight fight with Kevin Holland, which would be enough to fight at heavyweight.
The full stats are below, in battle order, per CSAC.
FighterWeigh in (lbs)In the cage (lbs)Win/Loss (lbs)Tagir Ulanbekov125.5147.4+21.9Clayton Carpenter125.5141.2+15.7Ricky Turcios136156.6+20.6Benardo Sopaj135151.8+12.8Rinya Nakamura135.5148.6+13.1Muin Gafurov136151.8+15.8Karoline Rosa135.5154+18.5Ailin Perez135152.2+17.2Zachary Reese185.5201+15.5Azamat Bekoev185203.2+17.7Grant Dawson156179.4+23.4Diego Ferreira156173.2+17.2Bogdan Guskov205.5214.4+8.9Billy Elekena200202.4+2.4Jailton Almeida235232.2-2.8Serghei Spivac233234.2+1.2Payton Talbott135.5158.2+22.7Raoni Barcelos135.5158.2+22.7Kevin Holland183.5190.4+6.9Reiner De Ridder184.5212+27.5Jiri Prochazka204.5208.2+3.7Jamahal Hill205.5221.8+21.8Merab Dvalishvili134156.8+22.8Umar Nurmagomedov135156.8+21.8Islam Makhachev154.5178+23.5Renato Moicano155181.8+26.8Per CSAC
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