Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday’s main event (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+) at Intuit Dome.

Arman Tsarukyan's nearly six-year journey to the UFC lightweight title will take a little longer. Tsarukyan suffered an injury two nights before challenging lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311.

UFC 311 continues with the UFC lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Check out our UFC odds series for our Makhachev-Tsarukyan prediction.

Makhachev, 33, takes a 26-1 record into the fight that includes a division-record 14-match winning streak. He claimed his first championship Oct. 22, 2022, in a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira. Makhachev since twice defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski and once against Dustin Poirier.

Lopes is the number three-ranked featherweight in the world, but has only made one appearance up the weights in short notice catchweight bout against Dan Ige. Meanwhile Poirier was the last man to challenge Makhachev at UFC 301 last summer, losing by submission in the fifth round.

As far as a possible trilogy with Arman Tsarukyan is concerned, you can count Islam Makhachev out. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) will put his lightweight championship on the line in a rematch with Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA,

Dana White confirms Arman Tsarukyan's withdrawal due to a back injury; Islam Makhachev now faces Renato Moicano at UFC 311.

As a result of Tsarukyan's dropout, lightweight contender Renato Moicano is stepping into the main to challenge Makhachev for the 155-pound title on short notice. Moicano was previously scheduled to face fellow veteran contender Beneil Dariush on the pay-per-view card.

Standing in Makhachev’s way of winning a second UFC title is welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, who has trained with Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team on numerous occasions. So how far away is Makhachev from his pursuit? The lightweight champion isn’t sure, but knows it’s something he needs to achieve in his career.

Who will walk out of California holding gold? The Sporting News will provide results from the entire UFC 311 fight card

UFC President Dana White announced Friday that Islam Makhachev will defend the UFC lightweight title against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 on Saturday