Arman Tsarukyan won’t fight for title in next bout after UFC 311 withdrawal
Arman Tsarukyan will not fight for the lightweight title the next time fight fans see him compete after the No. 1 contender’s eleventh-hour withdrawal from UFC 311, according to Dana White.
Arman Tsarukyan will not battle for the lightweight title the next time fight fans see him compete after the No. 1 contender’s eleventh-hour withdrawal from UFC 311.
That’s what UFC president Dana White told reporters in California after Islam Makhachev defended his championship with a first-round submission win over short-notice replacement opponent Renato Moicano.
“He’s going back to the drawing board,” White said of Tsarukyan following Saturday’s event that was originally supposed to be headlined by Tsarukyan facing Makhachev.
It was supposed to be a rematch of a competitive three-round fight from more than five years ago, however Tsarukyan withdrew with a back injury in the hours leading up to the official weigh-in.
White said the UFC’s doctors and top training staff from the organization’s Performance Institute visited with Tsarukyan, but the fighter determined he was unable to compete.
“I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt,” White said. “We’ve been in these positions before. … You miss opportunities sometimes and he did, so we’ll see how this plays out with him.”
Tsarukyan was coming off a win over former champion Charles Oliveira and has become the clear top contender in the weight class. However, it is unclear what will be next for the 28-year-old.
“He’s not getting a title shot, so that means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title,” White said definitively.
Tsarukyan has gone 9-1 since losing his UFC debut to Makhachev, including knockout victories over ranked lightweights Beneil Dariush and Joel Alvarez.