https://www.mmanews.com/news/ufc/jailton-almeida-set-return-ufc-311/
The year-opening pay-per-view for 2025 has its first fight, with heavyweight standout Jailton Almeida set for the chance to return to a win streak.
Almeida (21-3) had his push toward a maiden title fight on MMA’s biggest stage violently stalled by some Curtis Blaydes hammerfists at UFC 299 this past March. It didn’t take him long to rebound, however, with the Brazilian submitting Alexandr Romanov in quick time three months later.
Having retained his #6 position in the rankings, Almeida will once again need to defend that spot next January if he’s to place his name back in the title conversation.
Per Brazilian reporter Léo Guimaraes, “Malhadinho” is slated to share the cage with #7-ranked contender Serghei Spivac (17-4) at the UFC 311 event on Jan. 18.
A location is yet to be announced for the PPV.
Like Almeida, Spivac is coming off a bounce-back performance. The Moldovan 29-year-old suffered a difficult TKO setback at the hands of Ciryl Gane in 2023 but returned this year to avenge a past defeat to Marcin Tybura.
Having now competed in three straight main events, “Polar Bear” will have the chance to advance his championship ambitions on the PPV stage early next year.
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It appears that Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2 is official for UFC 311 in January.
The lightweight champion hasn’t been seen in the cage since a clash with Dustin Poirier in June. In the main event of UFC 302, Islam Makhachev entered the octagon as a massive betting favorite against ‘The Diamond’. While the challenger offered some resistance, the Russian emerged with a fifth-round submission victory.
Following the win, Islam Makhachev was linked to a December meeting with Arman Tsarukyan. For his part, the latter earned a UFC title shot with a split-decision win over Charles Oliveira in April. However, the two never signed a deal to fight in December. Due to an injury to Makhachev, their fight was postponed to 2025.
However, it seems that the two have now signed a deal to fight in January. Earlier today, Nurmagomedov MMA School posted to Instagram, revealing a fight poster for Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan 2. According to the post’s caption, the two will be headlining the event next year, and the card will go down from Los Angeles.
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Let’s go Spivak!
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Rooting for Almeida.
I kind of want to go to this one.