Israel Adesanya envisions plenty of grappling exchanges in the UFC 311 headliner. Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) in Saturday's main event (pay-per-view,

Makhachev, 33, takes a 26-1 record into the fight that includes a division-record 14-match winning streak. He claimed his first championship Oct. 22, 2022, in a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira. Makhachev since twice defended his title against Alexander Volkanovski and once against Dustin Poirier.

ESPN's No.1 pound-for-pound fighter headlines the first UFC pay-per-view of the year Saturday, as lightweight champion Islam Makhachev puts his title on the line against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 ( 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV, with prelims at 8 p.m. ET on ESPNEWS/FX/Disney+/ESPN+ and early prelims at 6 p.m on FX/Disney+/ESPN+).

Dvalishvili will also need to be mindful inside of scrambles given his propensity to expose his back when returning to standing positions. As Nurmagomedov has already shown in the octagon, the Dagestani fighter is incredibly systematic and effective when it comes to breaking down his opponents from rear mount and riding positions.

Jari Prochazka versus Jamahal Hill is the pick of the fights from the rest of the undercard, with betting apps pricing the American at 8/11 to get the win, while Kevin Holland’s middleweight contest against Reinier de Ridder will attract some interest too.

The first UFC pay-per-view of the year is fast approaching. UFC 311 is built as a card that should appeal to hardcore fight fans, with fantastic pairings of familiar names from the prelims through the main event.