Desti͏n͏y͏ ͏has ͏͏on͏ce again inte͏rt͏w͏ined Islam Makhachev ͏͏a͏nd Arman͏ ͏T͏sar͏͏u͏ky͏͏͏͏a͏͏͏n, ͏a͏s͏ thes͏e two figh͏͏͏ters ͏pr͏ep͏are͏͏ ͏to face͏ ͏each oth͏e͏r ͏͏͏n͏ex͏t y͏ea͏r͏—five years ͏aft͏er the͏͏ir fir͏st encoun͏te͏r a͏͏s rising conten͏d͏e͏r͏s.͏ T͏sar͏ukya͏n’͏s ͏im͏pr͏e͏ssive victory͏ ͏over ͏C͏h͏͏a͏͏rl͏es Ol͏iveira at UFC 300 secure͏d͏͏ ͏͏him t͏he ͏num͏ber o͏͏ne co͏nt͏e͏͏͏n͏de͏r ͏spot͏ for ͏th͏e͏ lightw͏ei͏g͏͏ht ͏ti͏t͏͏le͏. ͏Origi͏n͏͏ally,͏ t͏he͏i͏͏r rem͏atch͏ was scheduled for the͏͏ ͏͏end of t͏his y͏ear͏, ͏bu͏t Ma͏͏khac͏hev’s ͏͏͏hand i͏njury du͏͏͏r͏in͏g͏ ͏h͏is ͏UFC 30͏2 fight wi͏th͏ Dustin Poi͏rier forc͏ed a dela͏͏͏y. Now, it app͏͏ears t͏͏heir ͏cl͏a͏sh ͏is s͏͏et͏ ͏for n͏e͏͏xt ye͏ar͏ and the stadium where the clash is about to happen is no less than the Sphere.

According to a report shared by a renowned journalist, Manouk Akopyan, the promotion is apparently taking a huge leap further as they are about to schedule the Arman Tsarukyan vs. Islam Makahchev lightweight championship super fight at Steve Ballmer’s $2 billion Intuit Dome which is in Inglewood, California.

“I’m told the rematch between UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev 🇷🇺 and No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan 🇦🇲 is being planned for UFC 311 on January 18,” Akopyan wrote. “A location/venue under consideration is the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, the Clippers’ new $2 billion arena,” he further added.

So, it appears that Arman Tsarukyan got his date indirectly. Indeed, Tsarukyan will look forward to having the fight, especially the way he had lost during his first fight against Islam in 2019. The lightweight bout served as the co-headliner for UFC on ESPN+ 7, that took place at Yubileyniy Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia. And it was a match-up between the best of the grappling techniques.

Although Makhachev eventually won the three-round fight, resulting in a unanimous decision (30-27 twice and 29-28), Tsarukyan had shown his class. He had given Islam a run for his money, repeatedly shooting for takedowns and resisting submission setups.

Initially, both fighters had trouble finding their footing, slipping on the canvas. Makhachev reset himself after a rush takedown failed an pulled off one of the slickest moves of the night, a foot sweep into mount. But, Tsarukyan had an answer for every impressive technique of Makhachev. In the second, a Kimura attempt from the bottom stopped Makhachev’s attack, and Tsarukyan got back to his feet.

Going into the third, Tsarukyan had one last chance to surpass Islam. But the pace of Makhachev’s grappling attack did not let him stand, as the Dagestani did justice to his comparison with training partner and UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. Many have drawn parallels between Khabib and Islam, comparing their similar wrestling styles. How far that is correct?

Islam’s striking is a lot more advanced than Khabib’s. Islam’s punches are much more fluid and his movement is less stiff. Khabib relied on his incredible durability to overwhelm his opponents. However, Islam’s chin is not that strong. A succinct proof of that is his loss against Adriano Martins. All it took for Martin was one clean strike to drop Islam. But to make up for that, Islam has developed his striking fundamentals to such an extent that he could hold his own against the likes of Bobby Green and Dan Hooker, who were feared strikers.

So, it seems that Islam has even more potential than Khabib. But Islam thoroughly enjoys the comparisons. “I want to be next Khabib. I want to be like Khabib. Honestly, I want to smash all my opponents like Khabib, too. I have little bit same [statistics], but I agree. If somebody say, ‘You fight like Khabib’ or ‘You gonna be like Khabib,’ I want to be,” Islam had said BT Sports in 2022. And what does the legend himself have to say?

“There [are] fighters, there [are] champions and there is elite. My opinion is like Islam is elite in UFC right now,” Khabib had said about Islam. On the other hand, it Tsarukyan is probably the only one could match Islam at the moment. ‘Ahalkalakets’ Tsarukyan is known for his exceptional grappling skills.

His grappling style is a combination of strength, technique, and endurance. He ake his opponents down easily, and he has a wide range of submissions at his disposal. Once he gets his opponents on the ground, it is difficult to beat him. He has used his grappling to submit some of the best fighters in the world, including Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Christos Giagos.

But he balances the grappling skills rather greatly with his striking. He can throw jabs disguised as hooks and usually tries to keep the distance short while striking. All these apparently make him look great to land a fight against Islam, and Daniel Cormier also thought that.

“Tsarukyan has a style that lends itself to being competitive against Makhachev. … I believe that Tsarukyan fight is the toughest fight,” Cormier had said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen in April. While the fight is indeed expected to be an exceptional one, let’s turn our eyes to the arena. What’s so special about the newly constructed Intuit Dome?

It was a race against time for Steve Balmer to build the billion-dollar arena as his team LA Clippers badly needed a home after a deal with Crypto.com arena became a bit hectic for them. According to Balmer, they needed a place to call their home, “Every instinct tells me that this will help our team, as long as our supporters engage and transmit their energy.”

Built with a construction cost of nearly $ 2 billion, the Intuit Dome will be LA Clipper’s first tangible home ground for the very first time since their inception as a team. It will accommodate around 18000 people at the same time and in addition to that it has been designed by popular AECOM. The dome has a practice facility (85,000 square feet), a sports medicine clinic (25,000 square feet), team offices, retail space (40,000 square feet), and a large outdoor plaza (260,000 square feet) with basketball courts open to the public.

Th͏e͏ are͏na ͏͏w͏as in͏augurat͏͏e͏d ͏on͏ A͏u͏g͏ust͏ 1͏5͏, 20͏24, and has͏ sin͏c͏e hos͏ted͏ mu͏ltiple events. ͏Th͏͏͏e UFC n͏ow appear͏s͏͏ to have͏ ͏its sights͏ set o͏n͏͏ th͏e ͏st͏ad͏iu͏͏͏m, eag͏er to͏ be͏͏come͏ ͏th͏e f͏irst t͏o h͏old a͏ comb͏at sp͏͏or͏ts eve͏nt ͏at thi͏s n͏ew͏ly inaug͏u͏rate͏͏d venue͏. The lightweight title defense would be one of the best fights that could happen at the stadium, but are Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev ready to take on each other?

Arman Tsarukyan believes Islam Makhachev will be fighting him next year

͏͏Team Khabib head coach, Javier Mendez emphasized that his champion Islam Makhachev is not training now as he has yet to recover from his hand injury, “He’s not training from what I know so I don’t foresee December happening. It could happen, but I don’t see it; January seems more likely, January [or] February [2025],” Islam Makhachev is riding a 14-fight winning streak and was in drastic need of rest considering that he was defending his title continuously.

Well, in a conversation at ‘Red Corner MMA’, Arman Tsarukyan emphasized that he would return to the Octagon next year as the UFC has finalized his clash with Makhachev, “I knew that [the fight would happen next year], I was informed that this fight would not happen this year [and that] it will take place early next year. Yes, it’s from the UFC but this is the nature of the sport: everything can change in a moment and that’s why I am keeping myself in shape, I am in camp now.”

The last time they fought together, Islam Makhachev clinched the victory by way of a unanimous decision but things are different this time. Regardless, do you expect the lightweight title to change hands? State your thoughts in the comments below.