“Ahalkalakets” pulling out all the stops for his Jan. 18 title fight at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Reigning UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, has 26 professional victories against just one defeat, a first-round knockout loss to Brazilian bruiser Adriano Martins as part of the UFC 192 mixed martial arts (MMA) event back in 2015.
Martins, now 41, parted ways with the promotion just a couple of years later, but could play an import role in the upcoming UFC 311 pay-per-view (PPV) event, where Makhachev will rematch No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan.
“Ahalkalakets” (22-3) can be seen training with Martins in his Instagram stories.
This should be familiar territory for both combatants. Makhachev defeated Tsarukyan by unanimous decision at UFC St. Petersburg back in early 2019, which helped the champ jump out to an early betting favorite for next month’s title fight.
Regardless of who prevails, this former titleholder expects to score the winner.
“90 percent [of the crowd] is going to be my fans,” Tsarukyan told Ariel Helwani. “I’m surprised [he agreed to the fight] because it’s not his territory. I thought he wanted to maybe fight in Saudi Arabia or Dubai or somewhere else, but not in California. California is an Armenian town.”
Before UFC 311’s five-round main event gets underway, newly-crowned bantamweight champion, Merab Dvalishvili, makes his first 135-pound title defense opposite No. 2-ranked Umar Nurmagomedov (with this ex-champ in attendance).
For the rest of the UFC 311 fight card and PPV lineup click here.