In the main event of UFC 311 this Saturday, Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch six years in the making.
After their first meeting at UFC Russia in 2019, it seemed inevitable that Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan would one day meet again, with higher stakes.
At UFC 311 this Saturday, Makhachev has the chance to break a UFC record that has stood for more than 15 years. Currently, the Russian is tied with four fighters for the most title defenses in UFC lightweight history.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
BJ Penn started his lightweight reign with a perfect flying knee KO
In 2008 at UFC 80: Rapid Fire, BJ Penn took on Joe Stevenson for the vacant UFC lightweight title after Sean Sherk was stripped of it after testing positive for steroids.
'The Prodigy' wanted to join Randy Couture as the second man in the promotion's history to win a title in two different weight classes, a feat that has since been accomplished several times.
After submitting Stevenson in the second round, Penn aligned himself with Couture to make UFC history and begin his reign as lightweight champion.
The Hawaiian then defended his title for the first time just four months later against the returning Sherk, in what ended up being three incredible rounds of action. After a back-and-forth battle, Penn landed a jab that sent Sherk staggering to the cage, then flew in with a picture-perfect knee that knocked the former champion unconscious.
10. Bj Penn vs. Sean Sherk (UFC 84 – May 24, 2008)
Penn stuns Sean with a three-part combo and then throws a flying knee into him that knocks Sean to the floor and Penn applies a nasty GnP on him, causing the referee to stop the fight once the round is over. pic.twitter.com/gibfr2Ckxn
— Veluta (@VelutaMMA) December 10, 2023
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After an unsuccessful move back down to welterweight, where he was defeated by Goerges St-Pierre, Penn dropped down to 155 pounds and successfully defended his title against both Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, with three title defenses.
Frankie Edgar provides 'The Answer' and dethrones BJ Penn
At UFC 112: Invincible, Frankie successfully dethroned Edgar Penn despite being a huge underdog, taking the unanimous decision.
Just four months later, 'The Answer' put a stamp on their rivalry when they met again at UFC 118 and Edgar won again via unanimous decision.
In January 2011, Edgar retained his lightweight title after an incredibly close fight against Gray Maynard that ended in a split draw.
At UFC 136, 'The Answer' rematched Maynard, but this time he didn't leave it to the judges as he knocked him out in the fourth round.
Benson Henderson's UFC Lightweight Title Reign Wasn't So 'Smooth'
Edgar was looking to break the UFC lightweight title defense record when he met 'Smooth' Benson Henderson at UFC 144 in 2012.
An impressive performance made Henderson the new champion. Just six months later, the two played a rematch, with Henderson once again gaining the upper hand over Edgar and successfully defending his title for the first time.
Four months later, hoping to stay active, Henderson successfully defended his title against then-UFC star, Nate Diaz.
In April 2013, he then took on Diaz's teammate, Gilbert Melendez, and achieved another close split-decision victory.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will go down as one of the most dominant champions of all time
After the lightweight title changed hands fairly regularly for years, Khabib Nurmagomedov fought for it at UFC 223 after it was vacated by Conor McGregor.
'The Eagle' was originally set to face Tony Ferguson after years of rivalry with 'El Cucuy', but unfortunately another bizarre incident caused the fight to fall through.
Khabib then dominated late substitute, Al Iaquinta, in a controversial composite main event, which marked the start of his title reign.
The undefeated Russian then defended his title against McGregor in what will go down as the biggest feud in combat sports history. Following the fight, Khabib was suspended for nine months after causing a post-fight brawl with members of the Irishman's team.
During Khabib's time off, the promotion introduced an interim title shot that was won by Dustin Poirier. In the unification bout at UFC 242, Nurmagomedov maintained his undefeated record.
Shockingly just over a year later, Nurmagomedov announced his retirement from the sport following a successful title defense against Justin Gaethje, tying the record held by Penn, Edgar and Henderson.
At UFC 311, Makhachev hopes to break the trend of the lightweight champion making just three title defenses.
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