The rematch between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan is, arguably, the only top-level fight that makes sense in the lightweight division at the moment. The champ has run out of solid challengers, and has defeated everyone out there.
This specific match-up has some history to it. The pair has faced off previously, early in their UFC careers as untested fighters. Tsarukyan claims that the win by Makhachev was a fluke and that he has grown into a very different fighter now, ready to dethrone the champion.
The two have been in talks for quite some time now. With the champ recovering from an injury, the date and location for the fight were never finalized.
According to MMA insider Manouk Akopyan, the UFC has finally set the date. He posted a photo of a fight poster revealing the date and the location,
“I’m told the rematch between.. Islam Makhachev and No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan is being planned for UFC 311 on January 18. A location/venue under consideration is the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena.”
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Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, opened on August 15, ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season. It is slated to serve as the venue for basketball In the 2028 Olympic Games.
The grand arena seems destined for history across sports, and, going by the post, UFC 311 on January 18, 2025, will be big too. The date works perfectly for the lightweight champ Makhachev.
A successful title defense would open up bigger opportunities for him such as moving up a division.
Speaking of moving up in weight, he isn’t the only fighter that has such aspirations. Ilia Topuria wants to climb up and seems eager to challenge the lightweight champion. Alexander Volkanvoski doesn’t see it as too ambitious.
Volkanovski predicts Makhachev vs. Topuria
Topuria has made his intentions of becoming a two-weight champion very clear. It is an aspiration that Makhachev has too.
During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, the podcast host asked Volkanovski if Topuria could KO Makhachev.
“he can knock anyone out in them two divisions(145 & 155)….Going out there and actually beating Islam or even submitting and controlling him, I think that’s very unlikely,” answered Volkanovski.
Although Topuria possesses the KO power to finish Makhachev, Volkanovski does not see that happening since he feels the Dagestani fighter would be too dominant on the ground for the Spaniard to handle.
‘Volk’ knows firsthand what it is like to go up in weight and take on Makhachev. So his opinion on the fight holds water. Then again, in the Octagon, things do not always go by the book, does it?
