Darren Till was ‘heartbroken’ by UFC 311 main event cancellation as he backs Arman Tsarukyan for comeback

The cancellation of Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan was bad news for fight fans, let alone professional fighters eager to see elite MMA.

Renato Moicano stepped in to fight Makhachev at UFC 311, but no fight could fill the shoes of Tsarukyan versus Makhachev. England's Darren Till enjoyed success in the boxing ring on January 18, the same night as UFC 311, and he shares that sentiment.

Former UFC welterweight title challenger Till hopes his former training partner Tsarukyan can make a comeback.

Photo by Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images

Darren Till backs Arman Tsarukyan to beat Islam Makhachev as they turn the fight around

Speaking to Seconds Out following his win over Anthony Taylor at Misfits Boxing, Till gave his honest reaction to the Makhachev-Tsarukyan cancellation. 'The Gorilla' trained with Tsarukyan in Thailand and is backing him to secure a possible rebooking with Makhachev.

“It broke my heart,” Till said. “It's my favorite fight, I was looking forward to it. . . . I trained with Arman when I was in Thailand. . . . I think this is the highest level of MMA that will ever happen. . . . I'm going to support Arman [to win the rematch]. I train with him, I think he can beat Islam.”

Before the UFC can consider Makhachev vs. To book Tsarukyan, Makhachev must first beat Moicano. As a colossal favorite, the bookmakers almost guarantee a victory for Makhachev, and the statistics also support this prediction.

Renato Moicano fights two opponents at UFC 311

While Moicano poses a significant threat to Makhachev on just 24 hours notice, fighters in his age group have historically struggled to win title fights. At 35 years old, Moicano is among a group of fighters who have never claimed a championship title.

In weight classes below welterweight, fighters aged 35 or older have not succeeded in title fights. If Moicano manages to pull off an upset, he will become the oldest lightweight champion in UFC history.

This 'curse' has come upon fighters like Alexander Volkanovski (vs. Makhachev & Topuria), Kamaru Usman (vs. Edwards x2), and Michael Chandler (vs. Charles Oliveira), to name a few.

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