Robert Whittaker has shared his thoughts on the first UFC pay-per-view main event of 2025.
The former middleweight titleholder will be one of many fight fans watching when lightweight champion Islam Makhachev defends his title in a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311, which will take place Saturday night at the Intuit Dome in California.
Arman Tsarukyan impressed despite a unanimous defeat to Makhachev in his UFC debut in 2019
Since then, he has won nine of ten fights to earn a title shot, while Makhachev has established himself as the pound-for-pound number one by becoming champion and defeating the likes of Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Robert Whittaker predicts the main event of UFC 311
Makhachev vs Tsarukyan 2 is expected to be a closely contested fight over five rounds.
However, Robert Whittaker believes the lightweight title match could ultimately be a one-sided affair.
'The Reaper' sees a clear gap in skills between the two fighters, who most people say are well matched.
“I understand how good Arman Tsarukyan is,” Whittaker said on the MMA Arcade podcast.
“Looking at Islam's last fight with Dustin [Poirier] and we watch Arman's fight with Charles [Oliveira]I just feel like there's a gap. I feel like there is a skills gap.
“Everyone says how well Arman made his debut [against Makhacehv]last minute, short term, etc, etc.
“But you look at the names, you look at the level of fighting and the stage at which the struggle of Islam took place…
“I don't know. Islam is in a very good place right now. I find it very difficult to see it defeated.”
👀Robert Whittaker says there is a 'skills gap' between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan:
“I just feel like there's a skills gap. Islam is in a very good place right now. I find it very difficult to see him defeated.”
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What's next after UFC 311?
If Makhachev defeats Tsarukyan at UFC 311, he will set a new company record for lightweight title defenses by earning one (4) more than his teammate, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The 155-pound king previously talked about a possible fight against Leon Edwards when he ruled the welterweight division, but talk of a weight change has subsided since Belal Muhammad claimed 170-pound gold at UFC 304 last July.
'Remember The Name' is a training partner of Makhachev. 'Team Khabib' helped Muhammad prepare for his fight against Edwards, in which he won the title.
Nurmagomedov has admitted he wouldn't be comfortable with Makhachev and Muhammad fighting – but the UFC 311 headliner insists a matchup is more likely than him facing featherweight champion Ilia Topuria in 2025.
“I think [it’s more likely I’ll fight the winner of Muhammad vs Shavkat Rakhmonov] because Topuria doesn't feel like it,” Makhachev said.
“For what? For a belt? for money? I have money. I don't need it. I need the second belt.”
Only time will tell what will be next for Makhachev. First, he has the difficult task of defeating Tsarukyan, who will be making his first title fight and looks absolutely torn after taking his UFC 311 camp very seriously.
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