UFC 311 main event pits Islam Makhachev against Arman Tsarukyan – with bonus title fight also official

The promotion’s pound-for-pound No 1 will put his belt on the line in Los Angeles

The main event of UFC 311 is finally official, with Islam Makhachev due to defend the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan.

That long-awaited rematch, which comes five years after Makhachev outpointed Tsarukyan in a competitive bout, will play out at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on 18 January.

Russia’s Makhachev is on a 14-fight win streak, including his 2019 victory over Tsarukyan – the Armenian-Russian who has won nine of his 10 bouts since losing to the now-champion, including his last four.

Most recently, Makhachev submitted Dustin Poirier in June to achieve his third successful title defence, while Tsarukyan beat ex-champion Charles Oliveira on points in April.

Makhachev is the UFC’s pound-for-pound No 1 fighter, and the 33-year-old also tops the Indy Sport rankings.

Also confirmed for UFC 311, the promotion’s first pay-per-view of 2025, is a bantamweight title fight between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov.

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev makes his fourth title defence (Getty Images)

Merab Dvalishvili was crowned men’s bantamweight champion in September (Getty Images)

That fight will serve as the co-main event, as Dvalishvili makes his first defence of the title – against the cousin of UFC great Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Georgia’s Dvalishvili took the gold from Sean O’Malley with a decision victory in September, extending his win streak to 11. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is 18-0 as a professional, having most recently outpointed Cory Sandhagen in August.

The 135lb challenger is not the only one at UFC 311 with a close connection to Khabib; Makhachev is a childhood friend of the lightweight legend, who has helped to coach him over the years.