Makhachev Submits Moicano to Retain UFC Lightweight Crown

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Another fight day, another walk in the park.

Despite agreeing to still fight on a short opponent switch notice, Islam Makhachev didn’t complain and accepted all terms, cruising to a dominant submission victory over Renato Moicano to score another Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title defense on January 19, 2025, at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

Not knowing too much of his opponent’s tendencies inside the octagon, Makhachev only had one strategy in mind, and that was to lure Moicano into the takedown game as early as possible.

Makhachev’s ground prowess immediately made an impact after scoring the first takedown of the fight with only a minute into the match.

Too skilled and too powerful, Makhachev punished Moicano with several ground-and-pound strikes followed by a barrage of hammer fists.

As a result of the early onslaught, Moicano suffered a quick cut to his eyebrow and had difficulty in disengaging in the ground. The Brazilian Mixed Martial Artist tried to sprawl away from danger by pinning the defending champion’s hips with a leg lock, but none of that helped him as Makhachev tightened his grip with better positioning.

Moicano’s worst nightmare came at the 4:05 mark of the first round when Makhachev stayed away from the ground and pound to adjust his body for a possible submission technique.

After putting Moicano in a “25 seconds in hell” situation, the reigning and defending lightweight king pulled off a full mount at the back to open up the possibility of either choking or pulling off a triangle.

However, Makhachev saw the perfect opportunity to execute the title-securing D’arce choke, that capped off the match with another win via submission.

With the victory, Makhachev just made UFC history as the most dominant lightweight, surpassing Khabib Nurmagomedov, BJ Penn, Benson Henderson, and Frankie Edgar for the most successful title defense wins in their weight class.

Makhachev’s win helped him improve his professional MMA record to 27 wins, 13 submissions, and a loss. On the other hand, Moicano dropped to 20 wins, six losses, and a draw.