INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Arman Tsarukyan won’t be fighting for the UFC lightweight title anytime soon.
Tsarukyan hast lost his opportunity to rematch champion Islam Makhachev following his late-notice withdrawal from the main event of UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. The news was revealed by UFC CEO Dana White on Saturday night at the post-fight press conference.
“He’s going back to the drawing board,” White told reporters. “I don’t want anybody to fight hurt, ever. We’ve been in these positions before. We’re down there with the doctor, with Heather from (the UFC Performance Institute). You can ask any fighter – she’s the best in the world. You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. We’ll see how this plays out for him next year.”
Tsarukyan was scheduled to challenge Makhachev at UFC 311. However, on Friday morning, the Armenian notified the UFC that he wasn’t fit to compete due to a back injury. In response to his withdrawal, the promotion got Renato Moicano, who was scheduled to fight Beneil Dariush on the same card, to step up and replace Tsarukyan with a little over 24 hours notice.
Makhachev ended submitting Moicano in the first round of their fight, thus defending his title a fourth time.
Tsarukyan, who fought and lost to Makhachev in a competitive decision back in 2019, is currently on a four-fight wining streak and 9-1 in his since the fight with Makhachev.
Despite still being the No. 1 contender in the UFC official lightweight rankings, White doubled down and assured the promotion wasn’t going to revisit a championship fight with Tsarukyan next when asked a second time by reporters.
“He’s not getting the title shot, that means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
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