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The main event of UFC 311 is finally official, with Islam Makhachev due to defend the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan.
That long-awaited rematch, which comes five years after Makhachev outpointed Tsarukyan in a competitive bout, will play out at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on 18 January.
Russia’s Makhachev is on a 14-fight win streak, including his 2019 victory over Tsarukyan – the Armenian-Russian who has won nine of his 10 bouts since losing to the now-champion, including his last four.
Most recently, Makhachev submitted Dustin Poirier in June to achieve his third successful title defence, while Tsarukyan beat ex-champion Charles Oliveira on points in April.
Makhachev is the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1 fighter, and the 33-year-old also tops the Indy Sport rankings.
Also confirmed for UFC 311, the promotion’s first pay-per-view of 2025, is a bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov.
That fight will serve as the co-main event, as Dvalishvili makes his first defence of the title – against the cousin of UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Georgia’s Dvalishvili took the gold from Sean O’Malley with a decision victory in September, extending his win streak to 11. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is 18-0 as a professional, having most recently outpointed Cory Sandhagen in August.
The 135lb challenger is not the only one at UFC 311 with a close connection to Khabib; Makhachev is a childhood friend of the lightweight legend, who has helped to coach him over the years.
