Image by Cooper Neil

UFC 311 Controversy

With UFC 311 in the books, let’s take a close look at this weekend’s controversy report. Obviously, we focus on judging and the overall evaluation of referees, but we also do cover any controversial topics surrounding any post fight curiosities. 

Overall, the event witnessed 7 Decisions, 3 submissions and 3 KO/TKO’s. Unlike UFC Vegas 101 , this card had no controversial refereeing and even judging was quite efficient, however it is good to highlight two of the closer bouts.

Lastly, we will take a gander at what Dana White said in the post-fight presser regarding what is next for the defending champion Islam Makhachev, following Arman Tsarukyan’s late pull-out. 

Image by Louise Grasse

Rosa v Perez

  • (29-28) (29-28) (30-27)

Ailin Perez managed to secure a Unanimous Decision victory over Karol Rosa as a significant underdog. Fiona, now 5-1 inside the octagon, displayed significant improvement in her striking, as well as her octagon composure. 

The first round saw Perez come out aggressively, landing 1 of 4 takedowns and even being efficient with strikes. In total, it was two total minutes of control time, while on the feet she pushed the pace and shortened the distance. Rosa primarily landed a few leg kicks towards the end of the round, but did little to no damage. 

The second round saw Perez do a bit more of the same, landing a few strikes on the feet, securing the entrance and having almost 2 minutes of control time. At this point, it seemed she knew what her strategy would be. Entries were clean and optics showed she was not desperate for the takedown, almost expecting it to come naturally. 

The third round was the most competitive round. Despite the Argentinian landing more significant strikes, Rosa was not taken down, and landed more powerful shots. Regardless, Perez threw back and displayed her improved striking. Two judges gave this round to Rosa with judge Chris Crail awarded it to Fiona. 

Overall, considering that the third round was in fact close, the judging did a good job with scoring it. 

Image by Harry How

Nurmagomedov v Dvalishvili

  • (48-47) (49-46) (48-47)

Coming into this fight, Merab Dvalishvili closed as an underdog, with many pundits believing the Umar Nurmagomedov story-line being finalized. This 5 rounder would prove to be one of the best bantamweight title-bouts with great moments for both fighters. Ultimately, the Machine executed his game plan perfectly, blossoming in the later rounds. 

Round 1 was a split round for Umar Nurmagomedov. Neither man landed any takedowns, with Umar going 0/2 and Merab going 0/1. Referee Chris Crail stood out and judged this round in favor of Merab. Umar did land the bigger, more damaging shots here, despite it being a competitive round. Crail also was the sole judge that awarded Perez Round 3 in her fight against Rosa. 

Coming into Round 2, some urgency from the Dvalishvili corner, asking for an increase in pace, while the Eagle Camp wished for more of the same. This round saw Umar outland Merab by 5 strikes, again landing the damaging shots. While Merab went 0/3 in takedowns, Umar did land 1 of his 2 attempts, collecting almost a minute of control time. While Umar did win this round unanimously, you could sense Merab’s uptick in pace towards the last minute. 

Round 3 is where fans and pundits are in discussion. The Nurmagomedov corner urged for more wrestling from Umar’s side. The striking numbers were again razor close, with Umar outlanding Merab by 1 significant strike, while being 7% more accurate. Both men attempted 5 takedowns, both landed 1, however Umar gathered 43 seconds of control time. Stats don’t tell the entire story as optics are a huge part of judging. Merab seemed to grow in this round and was awarded with it unanimously. 

Round 4 and Round 5 left NO debate. The defending champ landed 6 takedowns over the next 2 rounds, attempting 12 and having 3 minutes of control time. The pace proved to be too much for Umar Nurmagomedov, struggling to be fully composed. These rounds were undoubtedly the best for the champ, who outlanded Umar by 18 strikes in Round 4 and 3 strikes in Round 5. 

Ultimately, the truly controversial round was Round 3, where many people saw it as the most competitive. As it is now apparent, optics matter a TON in judging, and while Umar did statistically out-grapple and out-strike Merab, he seemed far more demoralized than the defending champ. 

Image from Jeff Botari

Who’s Next for Islam?

As fans, the post-fight press conference with UFC President Dana White is where we figure out where his mind’s at in terms of the fights that just happened and what he’d personally like to see for athletes that took the walk to the cage. 

When asked if Arman Tsarukyan was still in the plans for an immediate title shot, Dana white declined. 

“I don’t want anyone to ever fight hurt, but we went down there with Heather (UFC Doctor), and you know, everyone knows her, you miss opportunities sometimes and he did.”

Dana was then asked if he believed the Armenian could have competed on Saturday night. 

I don’t know that. Only he, (Arman Tsarukyan) knows that. 

White’s speech led some to believe that Tsarukyan was cleared by UFC personnel and made the individual decision to pull-out, despite the clearance. Of course, this is all speculation, and there isn’t any confirmation this is true. The only thing we do know is that Tsarukyan is not in the plans for an immediate title shot. 

While we can understand that White is frustrated at this behavior, and it could be true Arman did receive clearance by the UFC personnel, Islam NEEDS matchups. 

Tsarukyan was regarded as the toughest matchup for the current champion, possessing the skillset, age and physicality to match that of Makhachev. The consensus amongst the fans is that Arman is still the most intriguing matchup for Islam. 

Realistically, we could see Arman fight once again against Charles Oliveira, this time over 5 rounds. Their first bout was obviously a razor close split-decision and it always felt unfinished having it be three rounds. Over 5 rounds, we’d have more clarity on who the better fighter is. 

Tsarukyan’s injury seems minimal and the Armenian contender should be cleared to fight in the coming months, likewise with Oliveira, who currently nurtures minimal injuries from his Chandler bout in November 2024. 

Hopefully we do see Makhachev defend his lightweight belt once more, against a fully healthy and deserving Number 1 contender. 

Want to know more about each event? Visit homeoffight.com or any of our social media accounts for more articles, fighter interviews, and plenty of more coverage. Enjoy the fights, let us know how you’ll be watching!

By Published On: January 20th, 2025Categories: Latest UFC News: Results, Rumors & More at Home Of Fight