UFC 311: Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan II – will take place this weekend, Sunday noon, January 19, 2025. This is Akhalkalakets’ chance to avenge his loss at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik in 2019, and also a chance for Makhachev to silence his opponent.

Since their first encounter, Makhachev and Tsarukyan have had too many “entanglements and grudges”. However, the loss in 2019 did not properly assess the strength of the Armenian boxer, despite his good performance.

First, it was Akhalkalakets’s “debut fight” in the UFC Octagon. Second, he took the fight on such short notice that he wasn’t fully prepared.

Now that he has grown up and is fully grown, Tsarukyan is ready for a reunion with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s “Junior Brother”. However, Tsarukyan has been talking too much lately, which has made Makhachev unhappy.

The fighter from Dagestan said he planned to prove Tsarukyan completely wrong and vowed to beat his opponent, an Armenian born and raised in Georgia but raised in Russia, to silence him completely.

“Arman has talked too much lately. But on January 18 (California time – USA), I will make sure he can never talk about me again,” Islam said strongly.

Of course, being a son of Dagestan, Makhachev is always humble and respectful to all opponents. He admits that, despite Tsarukyan’s talk, the boxer still deserves a lightweight title fight.

Makhachev revealed that before accepting the schedule to face Akhalkalakets, he had been following every step of this opponent. He felt that Tsarukyan was a bright opponent and he enjoyed pursuing big, challenging matches.

“To be honest, I knew about 5-6 months ago that my next opponent would be Arman. Because he deserves to fight for the UFC lightweight championship, because he is the number 1 candidate to challenge for the championship belt.”

“I’ve always said throughout my career that I want to fight a real contender, or a fighter who deserves a title shot. That’s why I feel he deserves his chance,” Makhachev told UFC.com.

“It will be a big fight for the fans because he has all the skills that make a good fighter. He is good at punching and kicking, he is also good at wrestling, grappling and breaking. That is why it is two great fighters fighting each other.”

*In the most notable event in the world of MMA, PFL (Professional Fighters League) has just decided to terminate the Bellator brand, ending the 17-year existence of the MMA organization – which has been compared to UFC in the past for a long time.

PFL’s decision sparked outrage and backlash from many of Bellator’s fighters. Patricio Pitbull, a Brazilian fighter who has been with Bellator since 2010, wrote an emotional post on X after being fired…

“It’s sad that Bellator has come to an end and that the organization has had such a painful death. Sabotaged by Viacom executives in its final years, then sold to heartless people who are trying to destroy the tournament.”

Meanwhile, American fighter Corey Anderson (who fought for UFC from 2014-2020 and is still under contract with Bellator) also shared on X: “Imagine you are the champion of an MMA organization, and you are relaxing on the couch.”

“Your wife, then, walks in and says to you, ‘Did you see anything? Bellator got a death sentence?’ And all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion. Because you didn’t hear anything. Well, that person was… Me.”

On X, one account posted a thought-provoking comment: “MMA is in a strange place. Bellator was once seen as a great alternative to the UFC. Even before that, there was Strikeforce and WEC. And before that, there was PRIDE FC.”

“But what about now? PFL, it seems unclear what this organization and tournament system is and what direction it will develop in the future? And ONE Championship? It seems to be moving further and further away from MMA…”.