UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan has described the moment his ambitions of a title crowning in Los Angeles this past weekend came to a crashing halt.
Tsarukyan completed his media obligations and took to the stage for a press conference appearance last week ahead of the UFC 311 pay-per-view on Saturday night. Unfortunately for the Armenian, however, he didn't make it to fight night.
It was announced Friday that Renato Moicano was stepping in on 24 hours' notice to challenge Islam Makhachev after Tsarukyan suffered a back injury during his weight cut.
Many were quick to question how the original challenger had gotten hurt while using a stationary bike to cut the pounds. And during an appearance on Monday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Tsarukyan revealed that he had actually felt some discomfort the night before.
Everything was good, but on the last day, Wednesday after training, I went to sleep and I started to feel my lower back. And I couldn't sleep all night," Tsarukyan said. "The next day, I thought it's going to be good and after press conference I'm going to start my weight cut. And when I started my weight cut. I was (using the) bike and like, that moment my back was stuck and I couldn't move.
That physical issue not only prevented him from running it back with Makhachev inside Inglewood's Intuit Dome on Jan. 18 but also seems to have forced him to relinquish number one contender status.
After UFC CEO Dana White announced as much during the post-fight press conference, Tsarukyan himself publicly supported the decision and outlined his intentions to re-earn a title shot later this year.