Tag: Islam Makhachev

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the World

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the WorldIs Dana White finally ready to admit that Jon Jones is not the No. 1 P4P fighter in the…

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the World

Is Dana White finally ready to admit that Jon Jones is not the No. 1 P4P fighter in the world?

Over the last several months, the UFC CEO has found himself in some very loud arguments with journalists over Jones’ rightful spot as the best mixed martial artist on the planet. However, White recently turned some heads when he acknowledged reigning lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev during his announcement of the Dagestani’s next fight.

Currently, Makhachev is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world with Jones sitting in the No. 2 spot. The ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will have the chance to solidify his spot at the top on January 18 when he returns to the Octagon for a lightweight championship showdown with Arman Tsarukyan.

Their headliner at UFC 311 will be the second-ever meeting between Makhachev and Tsarukyan, the first coming at UFC on ESPN+ 7 in 2019. On that night, Tsarukyan made his promotional debut and came up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege. Since then, Tsarukyan has gone 9-1 with his most recent victories coming against Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira.

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Can Jon Jones take the No. 1 spot with a win over Tom Aspinall

Meanwhile, Jon Jones is fresh off his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title, smashing through former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.

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Immediately following the win, ‘Bones’ left the door open for a potential title unification bout with Tom Aspinall, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion. Jones has spent much of 2024 dismissing the possibility of a fight with Aspinall, but it seems like Jones is ready to sit down and iron out a deal with the organization.

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the World

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the WorldIs Dana White finally ready to admit that Jon Jones is not the No. 1 P4P fighter in the…

Dana White Spurns Jon Jones and Calls Islam Makhachev the Number 1 Pound-For-Pound Fighter in the World

Is Dana White finally ready to admit that Jon Jones is not the No. 1 P4P fighter in the world?

Over the last several months, the UFC CEO has found himself in some very loud arguments with journalists over Jones’ rightful spot as the best mixed martial artist on the planet. However, White recently turned some heads when he acknowledged reigning lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev during his announcement of the Dagestani’s next fight.

Currently, Makhachev is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world with Jones sitting in the No. 2 spot. The ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will have the chance to solidify his spot at the top on January 18 when he returns to the Octagon for a lightweight championship showdown with Arman Tsarukyan.

Their headliner at UFC 311 will be the second-ever meeting between Makhachev and Tsarukyan, the first coming at UFC on ESPN+ 7 in 2019. On that night, Tsarukyan made his promotional debut and came up short against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege. Since then, Tsarukyan has gone 9-1 with his most recent victories coming against Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira.

gettyimages 2148555051 612x612 1

Can Jon Jones take the No. 1 spot with a win over Tom Aspinall

Meanwhile, Jon Jones is fresh off his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title, smashing through former two-time titleholder Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden.

gettyimages 2184537581 612x612 1

Immediately following the win, ‘Bones’ left the door open for a potential title unification bout with Tom Aspinall, the UFC’s interim heavyweight champion. Jones has spent much of 2024 dismissing the possibility of a fight with Aspinall, but it seems like Jones is ready to sit down and iron out a deal with the organization.

Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2, Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov Official For UFC 311

The mixed martial arts leader is set to open its pay-per-view schedule for 2025 in style, having confirmed championship defenses for both Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili for UFC 311. Octagon action will head to Los Angeles for the first numbered event of the new year, with the new Intuit Dome playing host to a […]

The mixed martial arts leader is set to open its pay-per-view schedule for 2025 in style, having confirmed championship defenses for both Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili for UFC 311.

Octagon action will head to Los Angeles for the first numbered event of the new year, with the new Intuit Dome playing host to a lineup that already looks likely to be among the most stacked across the next 12 months.

And following additions like Ji?í Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill and Reinier de Ridder vs. Kevin Holland, as well as returns for Jailton Almeida and Johnny Walker, a pair of blockbuster headliners are now official.

UFC CEO Dana White took to social media this week to confirm that the long-rumored rematch between Makhachev (26-1) and Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) for the lightweight gold will indeed headline the event on Jan. 18.

And despite his callout of other contenders, bantamweight king Dvalishvili (18-4) will put his belt on the line against the undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0), who looks to set the stage for his stablemate’s defense in the final fight of the night by adding to the team’s trophy cabinet.

Makhachev has recorded three defenses since defeating Charles Oliveira to achieve champ status. After back-to-back wins over Alexander Volkanovski in 2023, the Dagestani most recently turned back the challenge of Dustin Poirier. Makhachev is now set to run it back with a charging contender whom he narrowly outpointed back in 2019. Tsarukyan enters his first title shot riding momentum from a triumph over Oliveira at UFC 300.

Dvalishvili, meanwhile, will be making his first defense at UFC 311, five months on from his victory over Sean O’Malley at the Sphere. That result extended his winning run to 11 straight fights and followed success opposite former champions Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo. Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, is yet to taste defeat inside the cage. The Russian most recently staked his claim for a championship opportunity by getting the better of the highly regarded Cory Sandhagen across five rounds in Abu Dhabi.

With these additions, the current fights expected to take place at UFC 311 in Los Angeles on Jan. 18 are as follows:

  • Islam Makhachev (C) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (lightweight championship)
  • Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (bantamweight championship)
  • Ji?í Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill (light heavyweight)
  • Reinier de Ridder vs. Kevin Holland (middleweight)
  • Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac (heavyweight)
  • Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafarov (bantamweight)
  • Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov (light heavyweight)
  • Karol Rosa vs. Ailín Pérez (women’s bantamweight)
  • Zachary Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas (middleweight)
  • Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos (bantamweight)
  • Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira (lightweight)
  • Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj (bantamweight)

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 311January 18 is going to be a busy night for Khabib Nurmagomedov. On Wednesday, Dana White announced that the…

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 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.

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

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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Islam Makhachev On Potentially Fighting Ilia Topuria: ‘Everybody Will Once Again Say I Beat A Featherweight’

Following the year that Ilia Topuria has had, some fans are coming around to the idea of seeing him move up a weight class in the future. Many are growing tired of the want for every fighter to become a two-division champion rather than achieving total dominance in their own weight class and this was […]

Following the year that Ilia Topuria has had, some fans are coming around to the idea of seeing him move up a weight class in the future. Many are growing tired of the want for every fighter to become a two-division champion rather than achieving total dominance in their own weight class and this was the case with “El Matador” at first.

However, after he did exactly what he said he would do and stopped Max Holloway at UFC 308, it’s becoming hard to deny him what he wants. With his back-to-back wins over “Blessed” and Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria has proved that he’s one of the best in the world right now.

It just so happens that the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC is the champion in the weight class above him. In a recent interview via matchtv, lightweight king Islam Makhachev gave his thoughts on Topuria calling him out.

“We’ll have to talk. It will happen 100 percent. He’s been talking about me non stop, he probably wants to let us know something but I have no idea what. Well, we will talk and find out… We will fight if we have to.”

Despite saying that they can make the fight happen if it’s called for, Makhachev went on to say that he isn’t particularly excited about the idea. The 155-pound champion had his own plans to move up a weight class until his training partner Belal Muhammad became the welterweight champion in July.

Having defeated Volkanovski twice whilst “The Great” was the featherweight champion, it makes sense why he wouldn’t want to fight another titleholder from the division below just yet.

“In terms of my fighting career, I have no interest in fighting Ilia Topuria. He represents another weight class so what if we fight and I beat him, what’s there for me? I won’t win another belt and everybody will once again say that I beat a featherweight and that’s it. But, if people really want to see him lose, well, we can do it.”