The UFC is set to kick next year off with a bang.
The first numbered event of 2025, UFC 311, will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between champion Islam Makhachev and top contender Arman Tsarukyan in what will be a rematch of their first clash in April 2019 in what was Tsarukyan’s debut bout with the organisation, which came at short notice.
Since that fight, 155-pound champion Makhachev has won nine straight fights as part of a run which saw him claim the UFC’s lightweight title which he has now successfully defended on three occasions.
Tsarukyan, by comparison, has emerged as one of the lightweight frame’s most complete fighters, posting a 9-1 record in wins over the likes of Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. His sole defeat during that spell came in a unanimous decision loss to Polish grappler Mateusz Gamrot.
Elsewhere, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is also set for a title defence after it was confirmed that the Georgian will put his 135-pound title on the line against the unbeaten Umar Nurmagomedov, who is a perfect 6-0 (18-0 overall) in the UFC since his maiden bout with the organisation back in early 2021.
“Merab came into the office late last night, told us he is tired of listening to Umar disrespect him, and wanted to make this fight happen as soon as possible,” Dana White told the media in Las Vegas, per MMA Fighting. “We called Umar, he was sleeping in Dagestan and he said ‘hell yes, anywhere, anytime.”
Several other high profile fights are also reportedly close to completion for the UFC 311 event too, with former light heavyweight champions Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill set to meet in the Octagon, while Brazilian’s 205-pounder Johnny Walker fights the 16-3 Uzbek Bogdan Guskov.
UFC 311 takes place on January 18 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
