Arman Tsarukyan was originally set to headline UFC 311 in a lightweight title fight against reigning champion Islam Makhachev. However, an injury forced the Armenian to withdraw, costing him a chance to compete for the championship.
Renato Moicano stepped in as a last-minute replacement, but the Brazilian was defeated via first-round submission.
Following the event, UFC CEO Dana White stated that Tsarukyan would now have to work his way back up for another title shot. Tsarukyan himself appeared to agree, as he expressed on social media.
However, not everyone agrees with this assessment.
In his post-fight reaction, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier argued that Tsarukyan still deserves to be next in line for a shot at the title.
“I believe it still needs to be Tsarukyan,” Cormier said. “Because I believe Tsarukyan, even though it’s a rematch and even though we know Charles [Oliveira] is supposed to be next, I still feel like Tsarukyan’s size, his abilities, his skill set, could present the biggest problems for Islam Makhachev.”
Cormier also highlighted Makhachev’s dominance over the lightweight division.
“Look at what he does to the rest [of the contenders],” Cormier said. “He has submitted or finished so many of the best lightweights in the world. Think about this — he finished Oliveira to become the champ. He finished [Alexander] Volkanovski in the rematch. He finished Dustin Poirier in his last title defense and now he finished Renato Moicano.”
Cormier continued to praise Makhachev for accepting a short-notice fight against a surging contender.
“Once again, Islam Makhachev proves to be the best lightweight in the world, submitting Renato Moicano in the very first round with a D’arce choke. I run out of ways to describe who Islam Makhachev is. This guy is a champion in every sense of the word. Not many guys would have accepted a fight for their belt on 24 hours’ notice against a guy that was on a four-fight win streak that you did not train for. He’s the best and he’s proving that time and time again.”
As Tsarukyan works to regain his spot in the title conversation, the debate over who should challenge Makhachev next continues to intensify.
