Islam Makhachev, Renato Moicano have tense first staredown at UFC 311 ceremonial weigh-ins

Islam Makhachev and Renato Moicano faced off for the first and last time ahead of Saturday’s big fight.

This Saturday, Makhachev defends his lightweight title against Moicano in the main of UFC 311. Makhachev was originally supposed to rematch Arman Tsarukyan, however a back injury forced Tsarukyan out of the bout on Friday, clearing the way for “Money” to step in on short notice.

When asked about accepting a last-minute replacement, Makhachev kept things simple.

“I couldn’t leave the people without a fight,” he said. “This is all for you guys.”

Moicano, in turn, had one final message for the fans in celebration of this sudden opportunity.

“I don’t give a f*ck. I cannot afford to f*cking lose. It doesn’t matter if it’s the champion or not, tomorrow I’m winning.”

Things were surprisingly cordial in the co-main event when Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov faced off for the final time ahead of their bantamweight title fight. Things have been heated between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov dating back to their first UFC 311 press conference, and only intensified on fight week as both sides continued to chirp at one another. However, for the final faceoff, both parties kept things civil, sharing a basic face-off with no drama.

UFC 311 goes down on Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.