Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) notched his third title defense when he submitted Poirier in Round 5 at UFC 302 in June. Makhachev, who’s dominated most of his opposition throughout his career, was surprised with how competitive “The Diamond” made things.

Sentiment was low for Poirier, whom many considered undeserving of the title shot. ‘The Diamond’ earned his fight off the back of knocking out the surging Benoit Saint-Denis, but otherwise, he was 3-2 in his last five performances. This reflected in the bookies, who had Poirier as a +360 underdog.

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,

Many people might disagree with Javier Mendez ’s pick for UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev ’s toughest fight. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) has been dominant for the most part, but a few fighters have given him competitive fights during his career. Outside of his knockout loss to Adriano Martins in 2015, Makhachev has never lost.

UFC lightweight champion and No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev is confident ahead of his high-stakes title defense on Saturday.

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.

Islam Makhachev doubts Arman Tsarukyan truly has anything special in store for him at UFC 311. Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title in a rematch against Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday's

The UFC heads to the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles this Saturday for UFC 311, and MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré is here to provide predictions for all nine prelim fights.