Standing in Makhachev’s way of winning a second UFC title is welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, who has trained with Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team on numerous occasions. So how far away is Makhachev from his pursuit? The lightweight champion isn’t sure, but knows it’s something he needs to achieve in his career.

As Jailton Almeida looks to reestablish himself as a future title contender at heavyweight, Serghei Spivac is a good matchup for UFC 311's new pay-per-view opener, but also a dangerous one like Barcelos is for Talbott.