Arman Tsarukyan to face Islam Makhachev for lightweight title at UFC 311
The UFC has finalized its main and co-main events for their upcoming Jan. 18 event, the first pay-per-view card of the new year, Sportsnet reported.
President Dana White announced Wednesday that Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan to headline UFC 311 while Merab Dvalishili will face Umar Nurmagomedov for the bantamweight belt as the co-main event.
Makhachev, the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter under the banner, claimed the lightweight title at UFC 280 when he beat former titleholder Charles Oliveira by submission. He's successfully defended the belt three times since, twice against Alexander Volkanovski and most recently versus Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. He holds a 26-1 record in professional MMA and 15-1 in the UFC — his one and only loss came in October 2015.
Tsarukyan faced Makhachev once before at his UFC debut in 2019, losing by unanimous decision but winning Fight of the Night honours along the way. The 28-year-old is 22-3 in MMA and 9-2 since entering the UFC.