UFC 311 Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 Preview – Best Fights & Fighters to Watch
The UFC will kick off its 2025 Pay-Per-View schedule this weekend with UFC 311, which features a pair of huge lightweight and bantamweight title fights at the top of the bill.
The Main Event
The main event will see Islam Makhachev attempt to defend his lightweight title for a fourth time when he meets Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch of their 2019 meeting.
Tsarukyan came up short in his UFC debut against Makhachev but has gone 9-1 since then, and his current four-fight win streak that includes former titleholder Charles Oliveira will give the 28-year-old quite a bit of confidence heading into his first UFC title shot against the lightweight king.
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The Co-Main Event
The night’s co-main event is a bantamweight title bout between defending champion Merab Dvalishvili and undefeated challenger Umar Nurmagomedov.
Dvalishvili claimed the bantamweight belt in September when he unseated Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, while Nurmagomedov has added six wins to his perfect record since joining the UFC and most recently defeated top contender Cory Sandhagen in his first UFC main event in August.
Fights You Don’t Want To Miss
Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill
The two former light heavyweight champions have traded words for months leading up to this fight, and on Saturday they’ll finally get to settle things inside the UFC Octagon.
Both men are coming off stoppage-losses to current Light Heavyweight Champion Alex Pereira, and an impressive showing at UFC 311 could set Hill up for a rematch with the Brazilian or preserve Procházka’s hopes of a trilogy bout after he was finished by Pereira in both of their previous meetings.
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Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
Previously on an eight-fight win streak that had him on the verge of a lightweight title shot, Dariush is now looking to snap the first two-fight skid of his career after Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan both stopped him in the first round in 2023.
Moicano enters UFC 311 on a four-fight win streak that’s earned him a #10 lightweight ranking. The Brazilian has been vocal about wanting to challenge for the division’s title this year, but to do that he’ll have to get past arguably the toughest test of his career in Dariush.
Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
UFC 311 is stacked with can’t-miss matchups, but this lightweight bout between Dawson and Ferreira is one that might be flying under the radar for some fights fans.
Dawson has rebounded from a 33-second knockout-loss against Bobby Green with back-to-back wins, and if “KGD” wants to reclaim a spot in the UFC lightweight rankings he’ll need to halt Ferreira’s two-fight win streak in a matchup that will hopefully produce some high-level grappling exchanges.
Fighters to Watch
Payton Talbott
Talbott has established himself as a must-watch bantamweight prospect after just three UFC bouts, and at UFC 311 he’s been handed another step up in competition against an experienced veteran in Raoni Barcelos.
The Brazilian returned to the win column in February when he submitted Cristian Quiñonez, and Talbott will try to add to his undefeated record and preserve his 100% finishing rate in the UFC when the pair meet in Los Angeles.
Azamat Bekoev
One of two debuting fighters set to compete at UFC 311, Bekoev is stepping in to face Zach Reese on short notice after Sedriques Dumas withdrew from the card during fight week.
“King Pin” defended the LFA middleweight title with a highlight-reel knockout against Chauncey Foxworth last June, and now Bekoev will try to take advantage of this short-notice opportunity and make a huge statement in his UFC debut.
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Rinya Nakamura
Currently the second biggest favorite on this card other than Talbott, Nakamura has collected three wins since a pair of first-round finishes on Road to UFC secured his spot with the world’s leading MMA promotion.
The undefeated bantamweight has significantly fewer pro MMA fights than Gafurov, who began his UFC career with back-to-back losses but scored his first Octagon victory in June when he took a unanimous decision against Kyung Ho Kang.
UFC 311 Main Card
• Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 – For the UFC Lightweight Championship
• Co-Main Event: Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov – For the UFC Bantamweight Championship
• Jiří Procházka vs. Jamahal Hill
• Beneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano
• Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder
UFC 311 Preliminary Card
• Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana
• Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos
• Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac
• Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev
UFC 311 Early Preliminary Card
• Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira
• Karol Rosa vs. Ailin Perez
• Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov
• Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj
• Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter
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