UFC 311 – Preview of all 14 fights on the Makhachev vs Tsarukyan 2 card

On By Littum

January 17, 2025, 7:48 AM ET

Talk about making a strong first impression by putting your best foot forward. The UFC opens its 2025 pay-per-view schedule with a two-title fight card headlined by its best fighter.

Islam Makhachev, no. 1 in the ESPN pound-for-pound rankings, defends his lightweight championship in a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+ PPV). Makhachev (26-1) has won 14 straight fights and is the longest reigning current champion in the UFC, having won the belt in 2022 and making three defenses since then. Tsarukyan (22-3) has won his last four and is 9-1 since a unanimous decision loss to Makhachev in his 2019 UFC debut.

The second championship bout at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., has a rare twist: Bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili (18-4) puts his belt on the line against Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) as a +230 underdog per ESPN BET, despite being on an 11-game winning streak. How unusual are these odds? Not unprecedented, but close. Only one former UFC champion — strawweight Carla Esparza (+280), defending against Zhang Weili in 2022 — has been a +250 or longer underdog in the 18 years that ESPN Research has tracked odds. (That doesn’t count title defenses against interim champions or upset dethronement rematches.)

In addition to the two title fights, UFC 311 also features a clash of former champions as Jiří Procházka (30-5-1) and Jamahal Hill (12-2) battle for position among the light heavyweight contenders. Both crave a return to the top of the mountain, but there is only room for one. Who will it be?

These three matches stand above all others on this weekend’s card. But what does the line-up look like as a whole? Here is a review.

Good things happen in threes

Lightweight Championship: Islam Makhachev (c) vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2

Even with his place at the top of the rankings and his stardom-by-unification Khabib Nurmagomedov connection, Makhachev doesn’t quite have the aura of the man right below him in the pound-for-pound hierarchy, Alex Pereira.

The light heavyweight champion has boosted his profile in a big way by putting on show after eye-opening show in quick succession. Makhachev, on the other hand, only fought once last year and twice in 2023. However, he makes an impact every time, so it’s always a treat when fans get to see the best fighter in the game go to work.

This fight will assign a different kind of work than usual because each fighter has 15 minutes of knowledge about the guy standing across the cage. The only other time Makhachev fought a rematch, he showed what he had learned about Alexander Volkanovski the first time, knocking him out in three minutes. Will the champion also make the most of this second chance?

Heading after the numbers

13: Consecutive lightweight victories for Makhachev, longest streak in divisional history. His total win streak of 14 – including one catchweight bout – ranks him third in UFC history, behind Anderson Silva (16) and Kamaru Usman (15).

60.3: Significant punching accuracy percentage for Makhachev, the best ever among UFC lightweights.

1: Knockout of Tsarukyan in his first meeting with Makhachev (in 12 attempts), making him one of only two fighters to beat Makhachev in his 16 UFC fights.

Men’s Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov

Nurmagomedov has fought six times in the UFC and has never been knocked down. However, only two of his opponents even tried, and they were a combined 0 for 3. So let’s just say his takedown defense is largely untested – outside of a gym full of elite Daystan wrestlers. Nurmagomedov’s preparation for training camp will be put to the test by Dvalishvili, who has takedowns in all but one of his 13 trips inside the Octagon and has hit double figures four times. One of those fights was in 2023 against former champion Petr Yan, who surrendered 11 takedowns – in 49 attempts! Yes, “The Machine” is relentless.

But if a fighter piles up double-digit takedowns in three- or even five-round fights, it means his opponents manage to crawl back to their feet a lot. No doubt Nurmagomedov has been stifled daily in camp by his top-heavy teammates, all so he can work his way back to standing in this fight and putting his accurate striking to good use.

Heading after the numbers

1,950: Strikes landed in the UFC by Dvalishvili, the most in bantamweight history.

72: Takedowns for Dvalishvili in UFC bantamweight fights, most ever in the division. His UFC total of 85, which includes one catchweight bout, places him five behind the all-time leader, Georges St-Pierre.

63.1: Significant striking accuracy percentage for Nurmagomedov, the best ever among UFC 135-pounders.

Light heavyweight: Jiří Procházka vs. Jamal Hill

When Hill last fought in April, Alex Pereira knocked him out. When Procházka last fought in June, Pereira also knocked him out – for the second time in less than a year. Both of these former champions have targeted another date with the current champion, and they’ve talked about it more than they’ve dwelled on this match with each other. But the road to Pereira leads through this stepping stone, so it’s no use getting ahead of yourself.

Both men are proven, but Procházka knows no other way than chase-’em-down submission with 26 knockouts and three submissions among his 30 wins. His recklessness didn’t serve him well in his loss to Pereira, but it could pull the hubris-laden Hill out of his typically disciplined approach and into an ill-advised brawl. It should be fun to find out.

Digging a little deeper for gems

Middleweight: Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder

Holland is always entertaining — unless you’re locked in the Octagon with him and he’s talking, talking, talking. De Ridder, competing in the UFC for just the second time, probably never saw (or heard) anyone like Holland during his five years with One Championship, where he once held the light heavyweight and middleweight titles simultaneously. Focus, Reinier, focus.

Men’s Bantamweight: Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos

The 26-year-old Talbott is a hot prospect, 3-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall, with seven knockouts. He earned his 2023 roster spot in his only fight to go the distance, setting a “Dana White’s Contender Series” bantamweight record by landing 145 significant strikes against Reyes Cortez Jr. Barcelos have lost four of their last six matches, but is there a better turnaround than a date in the cage with a golden boy?

Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano

This match could also be subtitled “Hot vs. Not.” Moicano went 3-0 in 2024 with TKOs in his last two fights — and knockout performances on the mic afterward. Dariush, meanwhile, sat out all of last year while recovering from a torn meniscus, and in 2023 he lost both of his fights by first-round knockout. Those losses, however, came against the irons of the division: Tsarukyan, who is going after the title Saturday, and former champion Charles Oliveira. This fight will be a good gauge of where each fighter’s career is headed.

Heavyweight: Jailton Almeida vs. Sergei Spivac

Here’s a tip for fighting Almeida: Don’t let him get his hands on you. Here’s a dose of reality: It’s practically inevitable. In his eight UFC fights, Almeida has spent 87.3% of his time in control of his opponent, which is by far the most in UFC history at any weight class. In fact, no other active heavyweight has spent even half of his cage time in control. Spivac actually ranks fourth among current heavy … with a paltry 37.2%.

Lightweight: Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira

Ferreira has turned his career around in a captivating way. After dropping three straight games in 2021, he has won his last two and been awarded performance bonuses both times. To make it three in a row, he must avoid getting caught under Dawson, who has spent 61.2% of his time as a UFC lightweight in top position, the highest percentage ever in the division. Keeping your distance goes a long way.

The rest of the names … and numbers

Lightweight: Billy Elekana vs. Bogdan Guskov
0: Decision win by Guskov (16-3), who has two submissions and 14 knockouts. He has 12 first-round finishes and has only been to the third round twice. Have a cup of coffee, cage judges.

Middleweight: Zachary Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
4: First-minute finishes by Reese in nine pro fights, including a 20-second knockout of Julian Marquez last June for his first UFC victory. Another (quick) coffee break for the judges?

Women’s Bantamweight: Karol Rosa Vs. Aileen Perez
2.22: Striking difference (attacks landed for each absorbed) in the UFC by Rosa, the best in the history of the division. Yes, this is the weight class once ruled by the GOAT of women’s MMA, Amanda Nunes.

Men’s Bantamweight: Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
6: Pro fights it took Nakamura to earn a UFC roster spot. Since then he is 3-0 inside the Octagon. The 29-year-old started in MMA less than four years ago after winning the under-23 world wrestling championship.

Men’s Bantamweight: Ricky Turcios vs. Bernardo Sopaj
29: Season of “The Ultimate Fighter” where Turcios won the bantamweight tournament. Coached by Alexander Volkanovski, Turcios defeated teammate Brady Hiestand by split decision in the final in August 2021.

Men’s Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
47: Percentage of Ulanbekov’s fights (8 of 17) won by submission. He trains with Makhachev under trainer Khabib Nurmagomedov, which is all you need to know about the Dagestani’s ground game.

ESPN’s Andres Waters contributed to this article.