WWW.FORBES.COM
UFC 311 Official Card Order Released With 4 Current Or Former Champs
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Islam Makhachev of Russia (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa ... [+] LLC via Getty Images)Zuffa LLC via Getty ImagesESPN has revealed the official fight card and bout order for the first UFC pay-per-view of 2025. UFC 311 will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 18.The card will be headlined by UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defending his title and spot as the No. 1 pound-for-pound champion against No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.In the co-main event, UFC mens bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili will defend his title against Umar Nurmagomedov. Weve known for weeks that these two championship fights would sit at the top of the pay-per-view portion of the show in Los Angeles.However, now we know about the order of the entire card. Barring changes over the next three weeks, here is a look at the entire card, early prelims, prelims, and main card.Ive also included start times for each portion of the card.UFC 311 Main Card - ESPN+ PPV (10 PM ET)(c) Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan - UFC Lightweight Championship(c) Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov - UFC Mens Bantamweight ChampionshipJi Prochzka vs. Jamahal Hill - Light HeavyweightBeneil Dariush vs. Renato Moicano - LightweightKevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder - MiddleweightUFC 311 Prelims - ESPNEWS/Disney+/ESPN+ (8 PM ET)Johnny Walker vs. Bogdan Guskov - Light HeavyweightPayton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos - BantamweightJailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac - HeavyweightZach Reese vs. Sedriques Dumas - MiddleweightUFC 311 Early Prelims - ESPNEWS/Disney+/ESPN+ (6 PM ET)Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira - LightweightKarol Rosa vs. Ailn Prez - BantamweightRinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov - BantamweightRicky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj - BantamweightTagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter - FlyweightThe battle between Makhachev and Tsarukyan is a rematch of their clash in April 2019. That bout won Fight of the Night, but Makhachev won by unanimous decision. That victory was Makhachevs fifth in a row.MORE FOR YOUHes still on the same win streak, but its at 14 straight heading into the fight with Tsarukyan. The title defense against Tsarukyan will be Makhachevs fourth.Likewise, Tsarukyan has been nearly unbeatable since the loss to Makhachev.After the April 2019 fight, Tsarukyan won five in a row before losing a unanimous decision to Mateusz Gamrot in June 2022.Tsarukyan rebounded from that defeat and is riding a four-fight win streak heading into his first shot at winning a UFC championship.Unlike Makhachev, Dvalishvili is in the beginning of his reign as champion. Dvalishvili has won 11 fights in a row, but he just captured the bantamweight championship in September at the Sphere in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision win over Sean OMalley.A bitter rivalry has grown between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov, and there figures to be some bad blood during the co-main event. Nurmagomedov is getting the title shot as the No. 2 contender behind OMalley.Nurmagomedov defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision in August, and he has been savagely pursuing a title shot since his big win. Hell get his shot in January.
0 Comments 0 Shares 6 Views