Arman Tsarukyan was forced to withdraw from UFC 311, costing him a chance to compete for the lightweight championship.
A back injury prevented him from facing lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev in the originally scheduled main event. The UFC secured Renato Moicano as a last-minute replacement, with the Brazilian ultimately losing to the Dagestani via first-round submission. The victory marked Makhachev's fourth consecutive title defense.
At the UFC 311 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White addressed Tsarukyan’s situation.
He’s not getting a title shot," White stated. "That means he’s going to have to fight his way back to the title.
White further elaborated on the circumstances of Tsarukyan's withdrawal.
He’s going back to the drawing board. I don’t want anybody to ever fight hurt, ever. We’ve been in these positions before. Went down there with the doctor, went down there with Heather [Linden] from the [UFC Performance Institute], who you can ask any fighter or anybody else, she’s the best in the world. You miss opportunities sometimes, and he did. So we’ll see how this plays out for him next year.
