What a wild week.
From the LA fires to the Khabib Nurmagomedov aeroplane incident, it’s been hard to avoid both headlines and concern for UFC 311.
Set to be one of the most highly anticipated cards, there has been major concern as to whether the event scheduled to be held at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, would be in this tragic fire’s path. At the time of publishing, thankfully the area has been deemed safe, but UFC president and CEO Dana White stated on livestream, “We’ll move it to Vegas if (the fire) gets too bad, but as of now it’s all a go. The NBA’s gonna go this week. We’re going to go.”
As for the card itself, we get to look forward to a juicy 14-bout lineup with back-to-back championship contests. Current No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound talent on the UFC roster, Islam Makhachev, will attempt to defend his title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan in the anticipated main event. The lightweights met back in 2019, with Makhachev defeating UFC debutant Tsarukyan after a 3-round unanimous decision—an epic fight that saw the pair earn the Fight of the Night title. Makhachev has gone 9-0 and become the champ since 2019, while Tsarukyan has amassed a 9-1 record on his rise to becoming the top contender.
One of the main headlines for the week, though, surrounded Makhachev’s coach and teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov’s removal from a Frontier Airlines flight, with the MMA world coming out in support of the sporting great. Dana White, in particular, responded in typical Dana White fashion, saying in an episode of ‘Pardon My Take,’ “What the f*** is he doing on Frontier Airlines anyway? This kid’s got more money than anybody, but that’s how humble he is. He’s flying on that piece of s*** airline,” before backing it up with,I don’t know what you have to do to get kicked off Frontier Airlines. Listen, Khabib doesn’t fight anymore because he’s got s*** loads of money. I’ve got to teach Khabib how to charter a plane, especially if you’re just going from Vegas to San Francisco.”.
Gotta love Dana White.
UFC 311: MAKHACHEV VS TSARUKYAN 2 airs Sunday, January 20, 2 pm AEDT
