Islam Makhachev To Defend Lightweight Title Against Arman Tsarukyan At UFC 311
Pound-For-Pound No. 1 Puts Title On The Line In UFC’s Return To Los Angeles On Saturday, January 18, 2025
The two first met in Tsarukyan’s promotional debut in 2019. As expected, the Fight of the Night-earning bout was full of highly competitive grappling exchanges, with the Armenian giving the champion one of his toughest tests to date. Makhachev’s relentless pressure and four takedowns helped secure a unanimous decision victory.
Since their first meeting, Makhachev has won nine straight, extending his win streak to 14. That stretch included a title-winning performance over former 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira, and three successful title defenses, twice against Alexander Volkanovski and, most recently, over Dustin Poirier.
Tsarukyan has won nine of his last 10 bouts, including a first-round knockout of Beneil Dariush and a split decision victory over Oliveira. With both fighters on impressive win streaks, and their first encounter proving to be a highly competitive battle, this rematch in UFC 311’s main event has quickly become one of the most intriguing matchups in the lightweight division.
In the co-main event, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against undefeated 135-pound contender Umar Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili claimed UFC gold this past September, dethroning Sean O’Malley inside Sphere at UFC 306.
The Georgian currently rides an 11-fight win streak, with standout performances against numerous former champions, including Henry Cejudo, José Aldo and Petr Yan.
Dvalishvili will face one of his toughest tests in Nurmagomedov, who boasts an ultra-impressive 18-0 record as a pro. Nurmagomedov is coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen.
Don't miss a moment of UFC 311: Makhachev vs Tsarukyan 2, live from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on January 18, 2025. Prelims start at 8pm ET/5pm PT, while the main card kicks off live on PPV at 10pm ET/7pm PT.
