The long-awaited UFC 311 event is scheduled for Saturday 18 January at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood California. The action takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning of the 19th in South Africa and we look at the two title fights taking place, as well as one other fight on the card and share some betting thoughts.
Click here for betting on the full fight card
ISLAM MAKHACHEV vs ARMAN TSARUKYAN 2
Lightweight Title Fight Main Event:
Islam Makhachev is a supreme athlete from Russia. He is known for his overall fighting talent, but he is a specialist in grappling. He made his UFC debut back in 2016 and he currently sits on a 14-fight win streak, with just 1 loss in his professional career which came in his second fight against Adriano Martins.
His last four fights have all been title fights of which he has claimed victory in each fight. He took on Dustin Poirier in his most recent fight held in June last year and although Poirier fought hard, Makhachev caught him with a submission in round 5 to hold onto his belt.
Arman Tsarukyan is an Armenian fighter who has had an extremely successful career so far. He is known for his effective striking and stamina and he has fought numerous times since his debut in 2019 where he lost to Makhachev by decision.
He has fought a total of 11 fights within the institution and he has won 9 of these, losing just 2. He has not lost a fight since late 2022 which leaves him undefeated for 4 fights in a row. He took on the veteran Charles Oliveira in his most recent clash in April last year and despite the fight going the distance, Tsarukyan did enough to win by decision.
BETTING – click here to bet
Makhachev 1.28
Tsarukyan 3.60
PREDICTION:
Despite Tsarukyan avoiding Makhachev’s take downs and submissions well in the first fight I believe that Makhachev has come a long way since then and he will claim a round 3 submission win.
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MERAB DVALISHVILI vs UMAR NURMAGOMEDOV
Bantamweight Title Fight Co-Main Event:
Merab Dvalishvili, fighting out of Georgia is known for his athletic ability and striking. After losing his first 2 fights between 2017 and 2018, he has been on superb form, winning all 11 of his remaining fights in the UFC, which includes wins against some big-name opponents.
He has won 10 of these 11 fights via decision and his latest encounter with Sean O’Malley in September 2024 saw both fighters last the 5 rounds and Dvalishvili picked up the decision win, claiming the division belt.
Umar Nurmagomedov is a Russian fighter who shows talent in the fields of striking and grappling, he has had a flawless career so far in the UFC, winning all 6 of his fights since his debut in 2021. Of these 6 fights he has won 3 by decision, two by submission and 1 by TKO.
He has had a disciplined training camp heading into this fight and after his decision win over Cory Sandhagen in August he will be feeling strong as the favourite to take the title in this fight.
BETTING – click here to bet
Dvalishvili 3.30
Nurmagomedov 1.33
PREDICTION:
I believe that Dvalishvili has fought a higher level of opponents in his career, and he will be the one to end Nurmagomedov’s undefeated run with a decision win.
JIRI PROCHAZKA vs JAMAHAL HILL
Light Heavyweight Bout:
Jiri Prochazka is an entertaining fighter from Czechia. He is known for his heavy striking as well as his dangerous submissions. He has fought 6 total fights under the institution, and he has won 4 of these with his only losses to the division Champion, Alex Pereira. His last fight was against Pereira at UFC 303 where he was knocked out by a head kick a few seconds into round 2.
Jamahal Hill, fighting out of America is a fighter who can pack a brutal punch. He has fought 9 official fights for the UFC, and he has won 6, losing 2, with the remaining fight ending in a no contest. It is important to note that 4 of his wins have been by TKO/KO making him a feared striker. He took on Alex Pereira in his last fight at UFC 300, where he lost by a brutal KO in round 1.
BETTING – click here to bet
Prochazka 2.05
Hill 1.75
PREDICTION:
I think that Prochazka will bounce back strong after his two losses to Pereira and win this fight by round 3 TKO.
SUGGESTED BETS:
Makhachev vs Tsarukyan
Makhachev by submission at 4.00
Dvalishvili vs Nurmagomedov
Dvalishvili by decision at 4.30
Prochazka vs Hill
Prochazka by Ko at 2.85
WIN TREBLE AT 8.50
All 3 of my picks to win works out at 8.50 and you can use this code to populate your bet slip 24358636
THE 49.00 SPECULATOR
All 3 of my suggested bets to land works out at a huge 49.00 and you can use this code to populate your bet slip 24358656
Note: All prices correct at time of writing but subject to change.
