UFC 311 is just a little over a month away.
On January 18, the first pay-per-view event of the year will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The event is headlined by a thrilling lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. It will also showcase a bantamweight title clash featuring Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov, promising to launch 2025 with an exciting start. Recently, the UFC unveiled the official fight poster for this much-anticipated event.
Makhachev comes into this fight with three successful lightweight title defenses already under his belt. He has the opportunity to make history at UFC 311 by breaking the record for the most lightweight title defenses, a record he currently shares with notable champions B.J. Penn, Benson Henderson, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. A victory for Makhachev might also prompt him to move up to 170 pounds in pursuit of a second UFC title.
However, Tsarukyan is determined to change those plans. The 28-year-old No. 1 contender suffered a setback in his UFC debut in 2019 when he faced Makhachev on short notice. Since then, he has bounced back impressively, achieving a 9-1 record in the promotion, including victories over top fighters like Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush.
The co-main event promises to be equally thrilling, as Dvalishvili will defend his title for the first time against Umar Nurmagomedov, a contestant widely regarded as the best bantamweight in the world. Tensions between the two have already escalated and are sure to intensify as the fight date approaches.
Take a look at the full UFC 311 lineup below.
Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan
Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov
Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
Jiri Prochazka vs. Jamahal Hill
Kevin Holland vs. Reiner de Ridder
Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov
Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas
Grant Dawson vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
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