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Khabib Nurmagomedov Already Stressed Over Cornering Back-To-Back Title Fights at UFC 311

Khabib Nurmagomedov Already Stressed Over Cornering Back-To-Back Title Fights at UFC 311 January 18 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov. On Wednesday, Dana White announced that the…

January 18 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov.

On Wednesday, Dana White announced that the promotion’s first pay-per-view of the new year will be headlined by a lightweight title clash between reigning and defending champion Islam Makhachev and the division’s top-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan.

On top of that, Merab Dvalishvili will make his first defense of the bantamweight crown when he meets undefeated sensation Umar Nurmagomedov in the co-main event.

Makhachev vs Tsarukyan and Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov is LIVE January 18th from @intuitdome, California! #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/XZuAFUYAyC

— danawhite (@danawhite) December 5, 2024

Those two title fights join the already-announced light heavyweight banger between former titleholders Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka.

Considering that both Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov are famously a part of Khabib’s team in Dagestan, the UFC Hall of Famer is already stressing about having to corner his fighters in back-to-back championship bouts next month.

“I think it’s never happened before, or hasn’t happened until now,” Nurmagomedov wrote in a translated post on his Instagram story. “What a night is waiting for me, I hope I’ll survive.”

Can Khabib Nurmagomedov go 2-0 in title fights at UFC 311?

For Islam Makhachev, it will be his third time putting his 155-pound crown on the line after securing two straight wins over Alexander Volkanovski before submitting Dustin Poirier in the fifth round of their UFC 302 main event in June.

Makhachev’s fight with Tsarukyan will be the second-ever meeting between the two. The first came back in 2019 when Makahchev defeated ‘Ahalkalakets’ via unanimous decision at UFC on ESPN 7. Since then, Tsarukyan has gone 9-1 inside the Octagon, his only other loss coming against Mateusz Gamrot. Tsarukyan earned his spot at the top of the lightweight ladder via a quartet of wins, including Ws against Beneil Dariush and ex-champion Charles Oliveira.

Meanwhile, Umar Nurmagomedov — the cousin of Khabib — will compete in his first title fight at UFC 311. Despite being a perfect 18-0 in his mixed martial arts career with six of those victories coming inside the Octagon, Nurmagomedov is sorely lacking any noteworthy wins outside of a dominant performance against Cory Sandhagen in August that skyrocketed him toward the top of the rankings.

Before that, his UFC wins came against Sergey Morozov, Brian Kelleher, Nate Maness, Raoni Barcelos, and Bekzat Almakhan. Still, Nurmagomedov opened as a 2-to-1 favorite to defeat Dvalishvili and bring the bantamweight belt back home to Russia.

Miles Johns Goes Off on Cody Garbrandt Backing Out: ‘He Knew He Was in for a War and Didn’t Want That’

Cody Garbrandt didn’t want the smoke. Originally, bantamweight standout Miles Johns was set to square off with ‘No Love’…

Cody Garbrandt didn’t want the smoke.

Originally, bantamweight standout Miles Johns was set to square off with ‘No Love’ in October — the same night Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira tore the house down in Las Vegas. According to Johns, the bout was eventually moved back to November 9 due to some sort of potential issue with Garbrandt. Of course, November came and went with no sign of Johns or Garbrant stepping inside the Octagon.

During a recent interview with Fanatics View, Johns offered some insight into the back-to-back cancelations that eventually led him to move on and fight someone else altogether.

“The original fight with Cody was set for, like, October 12th or something, and I was training for that, getting ready. Then I got word that he was having some sort of issues, so they had to move it back to November 9th,” Johns said.

“I flew out to Vegas for that fight on November 9th — it was fight week — and then I get word that Cody’s out. Honestly, it didn’t surprise me that much. When I was watching him, it felt like he was training. He seemed like he was bringing some guys in to emulate my style and stuff.”

Officially, their November fight was scrapped due to a Garbrandt injury. However, Johns isn’t necessarily buying that.

“Part of me felt like he was ready, but there was also part of me that felt like he just wasn’t going to make it to the cage,” Johns added. “I don’t know if that’s… Personally, I believe it was his last fight on his contract. He probably wanted somebody with a bigger name and someone who wasn’t going to risk knocking him out.”

Johns suspects Cody Garbrandt wanted something a little safer for the final fight on his contract

Garbrandt has struggled to find the win column in recent years, losing six of his last nine. If ‘No Love’ is on the last fight of his contract, he could be holding out for a bigger name to try and maximize his payout, perhaps anticipating that the promotion won’t be re-signing him amid his recent struggles.

“You know, there’s energy that goes into these fight camps and stuff. I was super locked in, super confident, and super prepared. If you looked at my Instagram or felt any of that energy coming in, I’m sure he knew he was in for a war. I just don’t think he wanted that.

“I think he messed around with the idea, thought he was going to do it, and then that little vertigo thing happened—which, I’m sure, has been happening his whole career. At the last minute, he probably just decided, ‘Maybe this isn’t the one to do on my last fight.’ So, it is what it is. I’m past that.”

Instead of waiting for Garbrandt to finally show up, Miles Johns will instead face Brazilian newcomer Felipe Lima at UFC Tampa on December 14. Lima made his promotional debut in June, landing a third-round submission victory over Muhammad Naimov at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Johns enters the fight with a 6-2 record inside the Octagon and a three-fight win streak, including victories over Vince Morales, Cody Gibson, and Douglas Silva de Andrade.

Lucas Browne Names UFC Fighter as Hardest Hitter He’s Faced—Even Stronger Than Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte

Aussie knockout artist Lucas Browne has sparred with Tyson Fury and gone toe-to-toe with Dillian Whyte, but nobody hit him harder than…

Aussie knockout artist Lucas Browne has sparred with Tyson Fury and gone toe-to-toe with Dillian Whyte, but nobody hit him harder than one former UFC interim title challenger.

Competing in the sweet science for 15 years, Browne amassed an impressive 30-6 record with 26 of his wins coming by way of KO. Along the way, he claimed the WBA Oceania and IBF Australasian heavyweight titles and famously traveled to Chechnya where he defeated Ruslan Chagaev to claim the WBA regular world heavyweight championship.

In May, Browne announced his retirement from the sport following a first-round TKO loss against Hemi Ahio in Perth.

During an interview on the David ‘White Rhino’ Allen YouTube channel, Browne recounted an incident where he found himself sparring against former UFC heavyweight sensation Mark Hunt. According to Brown, ‘The Super Samoan’ walloped him harder than any other boxer or kickboxer he’s ever shared the ring with.

“I sparred with Mark Hunt. I hit him with everything, and he just smiled at me. Then he went, ‘Bang.’ He hit me the hardest I’ve ever been hit in my life,” Brown said. “Without a doubt. He hit me in the forehead, and I went, ‘Wow.’”

Lucas Browne Names UFC Fighter as Hardest Hitter He’s Faced—Even Stronger Than Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte 3

Mark Hunt’s UFC Career came crashing down following his fight against Brock Lesnar

After making a name for himself in PRIDE with wins over the likes of Wanderlei Silva and Mirko Cro Cop, Hunt made his way to the UFC in September 2010. Though he came up short in his promotional debut against Sean McCorkle, the New Zealand native quickly bounced back with four straight wins against Chris Tuchscherer, ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell, Cheick Kongo, and Stefan Struve.

Adding a win over Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson and a majority draw against Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, ‘The Super Samoan’ scored himself an interim heavyweight title opportunity against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180. Hunt failed to claim the crown, succumbing to a TKO in the second round. Hunt found the win column two more times before an ill-fated clash with Brock Lesnar brought his UFC career to a crashing halt.

Hunt was properly pummeled by the former heavyweight titleholder at UFC 200, though the fight was later overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance. Hunt would later sue the UFC, claiming that the promotion knew Lesnar had failed the test ahead of their fight and kept it under wraps until the event had ended.

Unable to make his case, Hunt’s lawsuit was thrown out and he was ordered to pay the UFC $388,235 in legal fees.

Hunt still competed five more times for the UFC, losing four of those bouts before being shown the door. He last competed in May 2022, scoring a fourth-round TKO against Sonny Bill Williams in a boxing bout in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 311 Kicks 2025 Off With Two Banger Title Fights

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 311 just got a whole lot more interesting.
On Wednesday (Dec. 4, 2024), UFC CEO Dana White took to social media and announced two title fights for the first pay-per-v…

UFC 302: Makhachev v Poirier — Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

UFC 311 just got a whole lot more interesting.

On Wednesday (Dec. 4, 2024), UFC CEO Dana White took to social media and announced two title fights for the first pay-per-view event of 2025, which will take place on January 11, 2025 from Intuit Arena in Inglewood, California. In the Lightweight division, surging talent Arman Tsarukyan will receive his long-awaited rematch with dominant champion Islam Makhachev, while the Bantamweight crown will also be put on the line in Merab Dvalishvili’s first defense attempt versus undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov.

The Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 booking is no surprise. It’s been known for a long while that Tsarukyan was next up for the Russian champion, and the UFC 311 event was heavily rumored as the preferred setting. The first fight between the two took place back in April 2019 and featured a 22-year-old Tsarukyan giving Makhachev a very tough fight on short-notice.

Makhachev won the decision and hasn’t lost in many years now, capturing and defending the Lightweight belt twice. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan has risen up the ranks and confirmed his status as an elite Lightweight, winning nine of his last ten bouts.

The co-main event is something of a surprise. Dvalishvili hasn’t been shy about his disinterest in facing Nurmagomedov, and he also talked about resting until March. For a moment, Nurmagomedov was even targeted to fight again in 2024 opposite Song Yadong, but that potential match up didn’t last long.

Despite injury rumors and all the talk otherwise, it’s happening! Dvalishvili may not be enthusiastic about Nurmagomedov as his first title defense, but nobody can accuse “The Machine” of ducking any longer. He’s riding an 11-fight win streak, whereas Nurmagomedov currently holds a 6-0 record inside the Octagon.

Who enters February strapped with gold?

Official – Merab Dvalishvili set for first title defense in UFC 311 grudge fight with Umar Nurmagomedov

Undisputed bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his divisional crown in the co-headliner of UFC…

Undisputed bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili will make the first defense of his divisional crown in the co-headliner of UFC 311 next month, booking a grudge match with the unbeaten, Umar Nurmagomedov on January 18. from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.

Dvalishvili, the current undisputed bantamweight champion, managed to scoop undisputed spoils back in September at the Las Vegas Sphere, upsetting the apple cart at Noche UFC with a unanimous decision win over surging champion, Sean O’Malley in another heated pairing.

As for the streaking number two rated, Nurmagomedov, the Russian grappling ace turned in his stunning eighteenth career victory on the trot back in August, taking home a unanimous decision win over former interim bantamweight title challenger, Cory Sandhagen in a rescheduled UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia headliner.

Merab Dvalishvili defends title in grudge match against Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311

UFC CEO, Dana White confirmed Merab Dvalishvili would take on the undefeated, Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on his official social media tonight.

Makhachev vs Tsarukyan and Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov is LIVE January 18th from @intuitdome, California! #UFC311 pic.twitter.com/XZuAFUYAyC

— danawhite (@danawhite) December 5, 2024

As well as Dvalishvili’s title defense against Russian ace, Nurmagomedov, the promotion will field a title doubleheader on the same card, with undisputed lightweight kingpin, Islam Makhachev rematching Armenian challenger, Arman Tsarukyan as the duo rekindling their rivalry dating back to 2019.

MERAB DVALISHVILI GettyImages 2172059246 6.4

In the midst of a stunning eleven-fight winning spree, Georgian champion, Dvalishvili has turned back the likes of Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, Jose Aldo and Marlon Moraes en route to his title success against Montana striker, O’Malley.

Nurmagomedov, the cousin of former lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov and the brother of current Bellator MMA lightweight kingpin, Usman Nurmagomedov — entered the Octagon boasting an unbeaten 13-0 professional record, and has since boasted wins over the likes of Brain Kelleher, and Raoni Barcelos, to go with his August judging success against Sandhagen.

Turki Alalshikh Eyes Canelo-Crawford Clash for Riyadh Season Superfight

Turki Alalshikh is homing in on a superfight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. It’s a fight that…

Turki Alalshikh is homing in on a superfight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.

It’s a fight that the world has been waiting to see. Unfortunately, nobody has been able to put it together, but that could all change soon as Alalshikh — the promoter who’s brought us Fury vs. Usyk, Joshua vs. Dubois, and Bivol vs. Beterbiev — is setting his sights on booking what could very well be the biggest boxing match of the 21st century thus far.

During a recent interview with DAZN, Alalshikh revealed that he has not been in direct contact with Canelo or his team, but hopes that word reaches the undisputed super middleweight world champion so they can sit down and work out a deal.

“I don’t know anyone now from the Canelo team, and I don’t have any connection, but if he’s hearing me, we are ready to discuss,” Alalshikh said. “But I want to discuss [with] him directly, without anyone in the middle” (h/t GiveMeSport).

Alashikh also has some big plans in store for former WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder — including a potential clash with MMA sensation Francis Ngannou. However, Alalshikh is unwilling to jump straight into booking a bout between the two after seeing ‘The Bronze Bomber’ lose four of his last five fights, including an especially embarrassing performance against Zhilei Zhang in June.

“I can catch it from two minutes [and check] if [Wilder’s] ready or not [to fight]. I don’t want to waste time and money anymore,” Alalshikh added. “I need to check first if he’s still got it.”

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As for Ngannou, Alalshikh is keeping his options open, but he has a couple of big possibilities lined up for the former UFC champion. One presumably being the fight with Wilder while the other remains a mystery, though it would see ‘The Predator’ return to the PFL Smart Cage in 2025.

“Yes, I have on the table two options for Francis — one in MMA and one in boxing I want to discuss with [Ngannou],” he revealed. “The MMA [fight], you know all the time, my answer is we want to do the biggest things.”

Turki Alalshikh Books the ‘greatest fight card of all time’ on February 22

While Alalshikh continues to line up big things for the coming year, Riyadh Season is already set to host one of the biggest boxing cards of the decade on February 22 in Saudi Arabia. In the main event of the evening, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will run back their instant classic from October that saw Beterbiev land a questionable majority decision victory to annex all four 175-pound titles.

In the co-feature, Daniel Dubois — who smashed his way through Anthony Joshua in September via a fifth-round TKO to claim the IBF heavyweight title — will put his gold on the line against Joseph Parker.

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Also on tap is Shakur Stevenson who will defend his WBC lightweight title against undefeated prospect Floyd Schofield, and Vergil Ortiz is set to meet Israil Madrimov in a battle of top-five junior middleweights. Not to be outdone, top 10 ranked heavyweight Zhilei Zhang will square off with Agit Kabayel in a fight for the WBC interim heavyweight title.

Adding to the excitement is the fact that the pay-per-view extravaganza will only cost fight fans in the United States $25.99 — far less than the $100 price tag for Mayweather vs. McGregor in 2017 or a premium UFC event that’ll typically cost you $79.99 on top of an ESPN+ monthly subscription.