Arman Tsarukyan’s year is not starting off as he planned.
In a shocking move, the UFC’s top lightweight contender was forced to withdraw from his UFC 311 title challenge against 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev on Friday after suffering a back injury late Thursday night. In his first comments following the news, Tsarukyan called the events of the past day “the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my fighting career.”
“I regret to inform everyone that the news is that I had to pull out of UFC 311 with a back injury is true. This was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my fighting career. I would like to thank the UFC for understanding and I look forward to competing for my first UFC Championship in the future. Thank you all for your support”
Tsarukyan (22-3) has long coveted a rematch with Makhachev since losing a competitive decision against the then-future champion in Tsarukyan’s short-notice UFC debut in 2019. Tsarukyan has won nine of his 10 Octagon appearances following that setback, including big wins over former champion Charles Oliveira and veteran contender Beneil Dariush to propel himself to the forefront of title contention, but now must step aside on what was supposed to be the eve of his crowning UFC moment.
As a result of Tsarukyan’s decision, Makhachev (26-1) has agreed to instead defend his title against Renato Moicano (20-5-1), who was previously set to face Dariush in a battle of lightweight contenders on Saturday’s pay-per-view card. Makhachev is already listed as a -1000 favorite by BetMGM to defeat his short-notice opponent, however Moicano on Friday vowed to “shock the world” at UFC 311.
-It is currently unknown if Tsarukyan will get the next shot at the Makhachev vs. Moicano winner.
The chaos of Tsarukyan’s’s removal also left Dariush without a dance partner for UFC 311 and prompted a heavyweight bout between Jailton Almeida and Serghei Spivac to join the five-fight pay-per-view card.
UFC 311 takes place Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
