UFC 311 is the first pay-per-view of 2025 and should set the bar high. Looking at the main card, there isn’t a boring fight at all.
Outside of the two title fights, Jiri Prochazka is a fan favorite and Jamahal Hill is hungry to get back in the win column. Renato Moicano is one of the fastest-growing stars in the UFC. He takes on the savvy, powerful veteran Beneil Dariush. Kicking off the main card, Kevin Holland welcomes newcomer Reinier de Ridder after a solid UFC debut.
What about the rest of the card, though? The UFC did a fantastic job in building this card and it shows. The preliminary fights are great, too, and they have the potential for new blood to enter the next level of UFC stardom.
Here’s a look at the three most exciting preliminary fights at UFC 311.
Payton Talbot vs. Raoni Barcelos
Is there a faster-rising star than Peyton Talbot? He’s 3-0 in the UFC, and 9-0 overall, with three gorgeous finishes to kick off his UFC career. The best UFC prospects are the ones who enter the fire without many crutches and destroy the competition. Talbot is right there.
Raoni Barcelos is a solid MMA veteran who made a splash late in his career. He started his UFC career 5-0 before taking on top competition. He’s lost to only good fighters and this bout will be another tough gatekeeping test. Coming off a win over Cristian Quinonez, Barcelos will need all the momentum he can get. The only fighter to knock him out is Umar Nurmagomedov, who fights for the title on the same card.
If Talbot can pull off another impressive win, he could headline a card next time. As a 1.06 (-1500) favorite, it would be shocking to see him lose this one. Talbot should be able to secure a finish against the veteran.
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Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
Grant Dawson is a solid grappler and was a Bobby Green win away from getting to the top of the food chain. That knockout set him back quite a bit, but he’s 2-0 since. He now gets 39-year-old UFC veteran Diego Ferreira.
Ferreira is one of the most exciting fighters on the roster. He only loses to high-level competition and tends to stay in every fight. His grappling is top-notch and he’s developed power throughout his career. After a three-fight skid and taking some time off, Ferriera is 2-0 with two finishes heading into UFC 311.
Dawson will hope to grind out Ferreira using his wrestling and grappling, but if Ferreira can hang in there, his defensive grappling and striking advantage could make this a close fight. Even though Dawson is a 1.36 (-275) favorite, Ferriera is the definition of a dog and his 3.25 (+225) could get better closer to fight night. If this hits 3.5 or higher, he is a solid fighter to take a chance on, especially with Dawson’s fighting style.
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
This is a solid battle of ranked heavyweights looking to enter the top five. Despite being on the prelims, this fight could easily headline a smaller UFC Apex card. However, with both fighters’ grappling tendencies, it’s easy to see why the UFC didn’t want to take any chances. While grappling is a major part of MMA, it’s sadly a dying art from a fan’s perspective.
Almeida and Spivac have only lost to top UFC competition in their careers, which makes this a high-level fight regardless. Both guys have skills on the ground, but the striking battle could be the difference here. Both guys have knockout finishes earlier in their careers but have relied on their ground game recently.
Is the line too wide in this one? Similar to how people judge WMMA, heavyweights have fallen into the same category. Almeida is currently a 1.2 (-500) favorite while Spivac is 4.5 (+350). Looking at their experience, Spivac’s losses are against high-level strikers, including Tom Aspinall. He also lost to Marcin Tybura earlier in his career but made up for that with an armbar victory against him last time out.
Almeida has been knocked out twice in his career, and his best wins are against aging heavyweight strikers via ground-and-pound. Almeida lost to Curtis Blaydes, a solid wrestler, via ground-and-pound, making this line even more questionable. Skill for skill, this fight is closer than the lines suggest, which makes this an even more exciting fight.
Catch these fights on UFC 311 this weekend, with plenty of other great fights, including Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov and Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill.
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