UFC 311: Custom fight shorts for champs Islam Makhachev, Merab Dvalishvili unveiled

Venum Sports' custom kit, and part of their outfitting policy, made sure UFC fighters kept to their KO penchant in style. Now, UFC is back in Southern California for UFC 311 PPV - its first pay-per-view offering of the new year.

As part of it, champions Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili will be sporting new custom shorts from the brand.

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program's payout tiers for Venum's multi-year deal, promotional fighters get perpetuity royalty payouts. This also included any images, funkos, or collectibles made in their liking along with their fight kits. Alex Pereira made the deal famous with his iconic yellow Venum shorts. The brand picked up on the trait and made new ones.

For the year 2024, starting with UFC 299 PPV, brass and crew released a number of dazzling UFC custom shorts. Now it's two more to the fold for the UFC 311 PPV feature title matches. Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) will sport a fairly minimalist custom short against Arman Tsarukyan. As a nod to his home region of Dagestan in Russia, a pattern of mountains adorns the lower half.

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Georgian Merab Dvalishvili (18-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC) also gets a nod for his nation against challenger Umar Nurmagomedov. With a flag-like pattern and Georgian writing on his leg, there is no doubt which country he represents. A lot of their build-up deviated to the national way when Nurmagomedov said he was ducking and angling for a Ramadan phase. As such, the new custom shorts have gone quite viral.

Fight fans react to new UFC 311 custom shorts

UFC 311 PPV takes place Saturday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, and is less than a week out. There are some persisting concerns about the locale due to the Palisades fire. But that does not stop the production crew from doing their job for the PPV card.

Fans react to Venum's new custom fight shorts for UFC 311 (Source: X)

In the '24 season, Birmingham native Leon Edwards got his UFC Unrivalled Vale Tudo fight shorts, representing Jamaica and England. Team Next Generation UK scouser Paddy Pimblett got one resembling his Cage Warriors FC orange shorts. He made a name there from CWFC 75: Fighting Championship 75 to CWFC 122. 'Poatan' Pereira got a UFC custom short representing his tribal Pataxó clan.

Now, early 2025, Islam Makhachev and Merab Dvalishvili get one representing their humble beginnings. Here are a top few reactions to it.

GOAT Jon Jones got UFC custom shorts during November that quoted Philippians 4:13 bible verse (his tattoo). The UFC store pipelines it as UFC 309 perpetuity royalty merchandise for $114.99. The fact that Dvalishvili would get one quoting 'The Knight in the Panther's Skin' (Georgian: ვეფხისტყაოსანი) from Shota Rustaveli is an epic nod to his heritage!

Meanwhile, Makhachev is getting his threads in championship gold, in style. The UFC-Reebok deal has its hiccups. Reebok Mixed Martial Arts Fan Apparel pay and the full fighter compensations would not go out on time. Their designs also improved only at the tail end of it. However, many fans have voiced that the deal with Venum has been a boon and it shows. Visually too, these might be some of the best yet.

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Dibaas is an avid combat sports enthusiast and an MMA writer at FirstSportz. His knack of the sport started early, ranging as far back as UFC 81: Breaking Point; the first match watched. Barring a few years in the middle, he got back in the fold watching the rise of the likes of Conor McGregor, Kamaru Usman, and others... He also happens to be in the habit of writing, wherein his interests collide. He loves to report on anything and everything within the combat sports bubble. He has helped in freelance social redesign and rebranding for a few Instagram businesses, as well as digital/manual art restoration. He has a year of experience as Community service Associate, 4+ years of experience as a freelance content writer, and a year of experience in target-oriented writing. Currently, he delves into topics of MMA, Boxing, and Kickboxing to the best of his ability and share it with a dedicated audience.