The first pay-per-view fight card on the UFC’s 2025 schedule, UFC 311, takes place this week. The event is booked for Saturday, January at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. UFC 311 marks the UFC’s first visit to the new arena. The main event of the UFC 311 PPV card is a lightweight bout between UFC champion Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. This fight is a rematch of a 2019 contest that Makhachev won via decision. In the co-main event of UFC 311, UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili defends his title against undefeated Umar Nurmagomedov. Below we look at the betting odds for the entire UFC 311 fight card in early fight week.

UFC 311 Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Zarukyan 2

Since their first meeting in 2019, in which Makhachev won by unanimous decision, Makhachev (26-1) has compiled a record of 9-0 with seven finishes (five submissions, two knockouts) and two decisions. Makhachev captured the vacant UFC lightweight title with a submission victory over former UFC 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira in October 2022.

Makhachev has defended his crown three times since his victory over Oliveira. His first two title defenses were a decision win and a knockout against then-UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. In his most recent appearance, Makhachev defeated former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 302.

Makhachev has received Fight Night bonus awards for each of his UFC title fights.

Tsarukyan (22-3) has a 9-1 record since his loss to Makhachev in his UFC debut. He bounced back from that defeat with five straight wins before dropping a decision to Mateusz Gamrot in June 2022.

After losing to Gamrot, Tsarukyan won four straight wins with two knockouts and two decisions. He is coming off a split decision win over Oliveira at UFC 300 in April.

Today, Tsarukyan is the No. 1 fighter in the UFC’s official lightweight rankings, while Makhachev is the No. 1 fighter in the promotion’s pound-for-pound rankings.

UFC 311 co-main event: Dvalishvili vs. Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili (18-4), a longtime training partner of former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, burst into the spotlight in the promotion’s 135-pound division in September 2014 when he scored a unanimous decision victory over then-champion Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 306.

The 33-year-old Dvalishvili came to the UFC in 2017 as a highly touted prospect. At that point, Dvalishvili was 7-2 and had won and defended the Ring of Combat bantamweight crown.

Dvalishvili didn’t have a smooth start to his UFC run, losing his first two fights. He fell by decision to Frankie Saenz and the second by submission to Ricky Simon. The Serra-Longo Fight Team product clicked in September 2018 and he hasn’t lost since.

Heading into UFC 306, Dvalishvili was on a 10-fight winning streak. Before his match against O’Malley, Dvalishvili had defeated Marlon Moraes, Jose Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo. The win over O’Malley extended his winning streak to 11 straight. Although one of those wins came at a catchweight of 140 pounds, Dvalishvili holds the record for the longest win streak in the division at 10, surpassing Sterling’s mark of nine straight wins.

Umar Nurmagomedov (18-0) is the brother of Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is currently the No. 2 fighter in the official UFC bantamweight rankings.

The 28-year-old came to the UFC in January 2021 with a submission win over Sergey Morozov. Since that win, he has picked up another five victories in the UFC, most recently defeating former interim UFC title challenger Cory Sandhagen in a five-round main event bout in August.

The victory over Sandhagen answered all questions about Nurmagomedov’s advantages. Before the fight there was criticism that Nurmagomedov had not defeated anyone of importance. However, his dominant win over the then second-ranked bantamweight put an end to that talk.

Nurmagomedov looked like a future champion against Sandhagen. He completed five rounds, never losing his composure, staying within himself and sticking to a strong game plan.

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 PPV card betting odds

Islam Makhachev (-410) vs. Arman Tsarukyan (+310)

Merab Dvalishvili (+275) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov (-350)

Jiří Procházka (-104) vs. Jamahal Hill (-116)

Beneil Dariush (+160) vs. Renato Moicano (-185)

Kevin Holland (-105) vs. Reinier de Ridder (-115)

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 Prelims betting odds

Billy Elekana (+250) vs. Bogdan Guskov (-300)

Payton Talbott (-1200) vs. Raoni Barcelos (+750)

Jailton Almeida (-420) vs. Sergei Spivac (+320)

Zach Reese (-260) vs. Sedriques Dumas (+220)

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 Early Prelims Betting Odds

Grant Dawson (-260) vs Diego Ferreira (+200)

Karol Rosa (-180) vs. Ailín Pérez (+155)

Rinya Nakamura (-450) vs. Muin Gafurov (+350)

Ricky Turcios (+285) vs. Benardo Sopaj (-360)

Tagir Ulanbekov (-310) vs. Clayton Carpenter (+260)

*Odds via BetOnline

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Zarukyan 2 date

Saturday, January 18, 2025

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Location Zarukyan 2

Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California

UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 time and how to watch and stream

Early Prelims: 6:00 p.m. ET – ESPN+

Prelims: 8:00 p.m. ET – ESPNews

PPV card: 10:00 p.m. ET – ESPN+ PPV

UFC 311 Fight Card: Dana White in the Main Event – ​​Makhachev vs. Zarukjan 2

“Makhachev has defeated every opponent he has faced for almost a decade and is on a 14-fight winning streak. His last four victories all came in title fights against former world champions, with seven of his last eight (victories) coming at the finish.

“Tsarukyan has an impressive record of 22-3 and is coming off a win over former champion Charles Oliveira and a Performance of the Night victory over Beneil Dariush.”

“This is such a tough main event.”

UFC 311 Main Event: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 1 Recap

When these two first stared at each other from across the octagon, Makhachev was 16-1 overall and 4-1 in the UFC. Tsarukyan had an overall mark of 13-1 and was making his UFC debut.

When these two first stared at each other from across the octagon, Makhachev was 16-1 overall and 4-1 in the UFC. Tsarukyan had an overall mark of 13-1 and was making his UFC debut. Tsarukyan tried to establish his attack early on and use kicks to keep his distance from Makhachev, but the two quickly fell into a wrestling match, with both fighters dealing well with the pressure against the fence before Makhachev scored a deft takedown that put Tsarukyan up brought the back. However, he did not accept the position and stood up again.

Tsarukyan responded with a takedown of his own, but like Makhachev, he was unable to get into a ground position before his opponent got up. The two exchanged headbutt attempts from a distance to open the second verse. As in the first round, the two takedown attempts were mixed with their striking, with Makhachev making the most of these attempts thanks to his chain wrestling and relentless attack. On the mat, Tsarukyan looked for a kimura but couldn’t make the submission attempt. Then Tsarukyan got back to his feet and the two fought against the fence for the rest of the round.

The third round mirrored the first 10 minutes of the contest, with both men active in the attack department early on before returning to grappling. As in the first two rounds, Makhachev had more success with two takedowns and a control time of 2:31.

The fast-paced 15-minute fight went to Makhachev with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. The contest won Fight of the Night honors and made both men potential title contenders. The UFC commentary team, who had never seen Tsarukyan in the Octagon, particularly praised his performance in his UFC debut.

The fight ended with Makhachev landing 47 of 53 total strikes while scoring four to nine in his takedown attempts. He added 6:06 control time. Meanwhile, Tsarukyan landed 60 of 90 total strikes and managed a takedown on 12 attempts while gaining 1:47 in control time. Neither man recorded a submission or reversal.

Rewatching their first meeting, it’s no surprise that the two will be back in title contention in 2024.

We’ll have more on UFC 311 as fight night approaches, including final UFC 311 betting odds, tips, predictions and prop bets.