Arman Tsarukyan made his first comments since his shocking last-second withdrawal from the UFC 311 main event.
UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan withdrew from the UFC 311 main event due to a back injury just hours before he was scheduled to compete for his lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev. Renato Moicano, who was set to face Beneil Dariush in a lightweight main card fight, will now face Makhachev hours beforehand in the first UFC pay-per-view headliner of 2025.
It's a shocking shakeup for one of the biggest UFC cards in recent history. Tsarukyan, who rose to the top of the lightweight division after recent victories over Charles Oliveira and Dariush, will now focus on recovering from injury and eventually working his way into the Octagon.
Makhachev's immediate response to Tsarukyan's withdrawal was shared by UFC CEO Dana White on his social media pages earlier on Friday. There was no hesitation in taking on a title challenger in the last second as he defends his UFC pound-for-pound No. 1 ranking.
It didn't take long for Tsarukyan to speak out about what went wrong leading up to UFC 311.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Arman Tsarukyan is opening up about the 'hardest decision' of pulling out of UFC 311
Tsarukyan issued his first statement since withdrawing from UFC 311 in a recent Instagram post.
“UFC and UFC fans, I regret to inform everyone that the news is that I had to withdraw from UFC 311 with a back injury,” Tsarukyan said. “This was the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my fighting career.
“I would like to thank the UFC for their understanding and I look forward to competing for my first UFC championship in the future. Thank you all for your support.”
At the time of writing, the extent of Tsarukyan's back injury has not been made public, nor is there a timeline for a possible return to the Octagon. After defeating Oliveira via split decision at UFC 300, Tsarukyan waited nine months for the opportunity to challenge for the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Speaking to the UFC 311 weigh-in panel, White revealed that the promotion was unaware of Tsarukyan's ongoing back injury entering fight week. But luckily they had Moicano and Dariush on the card to fill in should anything happen to the UFC 311 headliners.
Moicano will now fight for the UFC lightweight title after recent victories over Benoit Saint-Denis, Jalin Turner and Drew Dober. He has been on a roll since moving up to lightweight after a long stint in the featherweight division.
UFC's first pay-per-view card gets a new headliner in Islam Makhachev vs. Renato Moicano
Makhachev will make his next UFC lightweight title defense following recent wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier. He will enter UFC 311 as the UFC's pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter against co-champions Alex Pereira and Jon Jones.
Despite the opponent change in the last second, Makhachev is still looking at history this weekend in Los Angeles. A win over Moicano would break the four-way tie with Khabib Nurmagomedov, BJ Penn and Benson Henderson for the UFC's all-time lightweight title defense record (5).
As for Tsarukyan, he'll likely get an immediate title shot when he's fully healthy and ready to compete. Dariush will not receive a replacement opponent at UFC 311 and will be financially compensated despite the cancellation of his fight.
Related topics
Comments