UFC CEO Dana White took to social media tonight and announced the main event and co-main event of the promotion’s first PPV of 2025. In the main event, the #1 P4P fighter in the world and current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (26-1) will rematch top contender Arman Tsarukyan (22-3). UFC 311 goes down on January 18th from Los Angelas.
These two first fought back in 2019 in a close matchup where Makhachev got the decision win. It was Tsarukyan’s UFC debut. Following the loss to Makhachev, Tsarukyan won five straight fights to earn a main event against Mateusz Gamrot. After dominating the first two rounds, Tsarukyan gassed out and lost the final three to lose a decision.
He’s bounced back again in the strongest way winning four fights in a row. The third win of that winning streak was a brutal knockout of Beneil Dariush. His latest win came back at UFC 300 when he won a split decision over former lightweight champion and top contender Charles Oliveira.
UFC 311
Islam Makhachev for years was looked at as the next great lightweight champion. Training under the late Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov as well as AKA’s Javier Mendez, Makhachev’s title reign felt inevitable. However, when Charles Oliveira was running the lightweight division, many wondered if Makhachev could overthrow him.
Not only did he do that, he finished him to win the title back in 2022. From there, he won back-to-back fights against former P4P king and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. The last time we saw Makhachev was back at UFC 302 in June when he defended his title against Dustin Poirier. Makhachev submitted Poirier in the fifth round to successfully defend his title.