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?